Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to miss Celtic’s Champions League play-off against LASK because of a suspension carried over from his time at Besiktas.
His LAST appearance in European competition came against Lugano in the UEFA Conference League, when he was shown a straight red card after lashing out at Renato Steffen. The Lugano winger was also sent off in the incident, but Oxlade-Chamberlain’s punishment has followed him to Glasgow.
It is another delay to the start of his season with Celtic. He stayed on the bench for the wins over Dundee and Kilmarnock and has yet to play a competitive minute this term.
There is still some uncertainty over exactly how much Martin O’Neill intends to use him.
Celtic are actively looking for more midfielders before the window closes and Oxlade-Chamberlain was already on the fringes during the closing stages of last season. He played his part in the title win and chipped in with some important goals, but once the run-in arrived his involvement dropped away considerably.
That does not mean his first season was without its moments.
He was trusted in some big situations and converted his penalty in the Scottish Cup shootout win at Ibrox, one of the more memorable contributions from his first campaign in green and white.
The question now is whether Celtic see him as somebody who can still force his way into O’Neill’s strongest midfield, or whether his experience will be used more selectively when injuries hit and the schedule starts throwing up games every three or four days.
At 33, there is obvious value in having someone with his experience around the squad, particularly once the European games begin to pile up alongside domestic fixtures. Equally, Celtic’s continued search for midfield reinforcements suggests nobody should assume he is guaranteed a prominent role.
The LASK suspension means we will learn nothing more about that from the play-off tie.
Ox should still be part of Celtic’s European squad once the suspension is served, regardless of whether the Hoops end up in the Champions League or elsewhere. By then, we may also have a much clearer idea of where he actually sits in O’Neill’s plans.
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Still mystified as to why we signed him.
Drifted out of contention during title climax and aside from the great last-gasp winner v Livingston, didnt really do himself justice.
Yet Iheanacho and Sarrachi who contributed far more and were in a similar contract situation, weren’t signed up?
Good luck to the Ox, but the signs aren’t encouraging.