The baffling situation surrounding Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at Celtic

This time last season, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was without a club, and he was training with Arsenal in order to stay fit.

Then Martin O’Neill returned for a second time at Celtic after the nightmare spell of Wilfried Nancy, and he pushed to sign Oxlade-Chamberlain on a six-month contract.

Celtic proceeded to win the domestic double, with the former England international getting mixed game time, but he was still re-signed in the summer when O’Neill was confirmed as boss.

With a pre-season under his belt, many felt that Oxlade-Chamberlain would play an important but efficient role for the champions of Scotland, but it has been far from the case.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continues to warm the bench under Martin O’Neill

What’s baffling is that in recent times, O’Neill has rotated his goalkeepers and cited Celtic’s heavy schedule as a reason behind it.

Yet, during Celtic’s last two matches, against Celta Vigo in the Europa League and Hibernian in the Premiership, there has only been one midfield change, and that was Mika Baur going off with ten minutes left on the clock in Europe.

Despite Celtic’s midfield looking leggy, struggling without the ball, and being forced back by their opponents, the midfield hasn’t been rotated or refreshed, as Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren and Mika Baur have continued to start and play.

In the meantime, Oxlade-Chamberlain has continued to warm the bench, and you begin to wonder: What is the point of having him at the club?