Deadline Day for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Celtic

Martin O’Neill confirmed his desire to bring in the 32-year-old free agent ahead of Wednesday’s postponed fixture against Aberdeen.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been without a club since agreeing to part ways with Besiktas last August and has spent recent months keeping fit at Arsenal’s training facilities. Although it had been suggested he preferred to stay in England for family reasons, sources close to the midfielder have indicated discussions with Celtic are constructive and advancing.

O’Neill is expected to return to negotiations once he is back at his desk this morning following Celtic’s postponed clash with Aberdeen due to a waterlogged pitch.

Given Celtic’s upcoming midweek games across all competitions, the next available slot for the Hoops to play Aberdeen in the North-East won’t be until early March.

With the deadline for registering players for the upcoming Europa League knockout meeting with VfB Stuttgart set for midnight tonight, time is running out for any potential move to be finalised.

Celtic have already secured the signings of Junior Adamu, Joel Mvuka and Benjamin Arthur before Monday night’s transfer cut-off.

O’Neill is now eager to bolster his squad further with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s experience, adding: “He could play midfield for us easily. Is he one of those players who could go past players on the outside wide? I wouldn’t be sure. But he could do a job.”

Aberdeen attributed the postponement of last night’s fixture at Pittodrie to sustained heavy rainfall in recent weeks, while the game being off meant Celtic slipped back to third in the Premiership following the Ibrox club’s 5-1 victory against a Kilmarnock side reduced to ten men.

Celtic return to action this weekend against Steven Pressley’s Dundee in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park, with the attendance set to be affected by a call from the Celtic Fans Collective to boycott the match as the protests against the Celtic Board intensify.

Conor Spence