Celtic’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain mystery

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was seen as a shrewd capture by Martin O’Neill back in February, and he showed that in flashes as the helped the Bhoys win the domestic double, which unsurprisingly led to a permanent deal being offered to the former England international in the summer.

The Ox as he’s dubbed hasn’t exactly been handed a regular opportunity to showcase his undoubted ability with his appearances this campaign being mainly limited to minutes from the bench.

The former Arsenal and Liverpool man is a highly regarded and proven player who has made his name at the highest level of the game, so it’s a complete mystery as to why he’s often omitted from the starting Celtic XI.

Alex is capable of controlling the midfield, he can take the game by the scruff of the neck and make things happen, whilst carrying a goalscoring threat, a quality that’s lacking in our current midfield.

At 33 he’s hardly a youngster anymore, but he’s hardly over the hill, and with a full preseason under his belt for the first time in a couple of years, his fitness levels will be pretty decent.

Callum McGregor is the same age, and yet he still plays each and every game, so why not Oxlade-Chamberlain?

Callum McGregor is of course the Celtic skipper, but that doesn’t mean he needs to play every game, especially with a talent such as Oxlade-Chamberlain ready and waiting to step in.

We are crying out for players who not only possess great ability, but proven experience at the top level, and the Englishman ticks all of those boxes.

So we can only ask the question, and that is why isn’t he used more regularly? I think it’s a fair question considering the problems we are experiencing in the middle of the park this season.