‘Miles Off The Pace’ – Ex-Star Sees Natural Fit For Celtic New Boy | OneFootball

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Former top-flight star Tam McManus believes that there is a place up for grabs in the Celtic midfield and new signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is going to fill that void.

Celtic’s January transfer business failed deliver all the goods they had been planning for since the end of a disappointing summer.

They sent out a statement by rejecting bids from Nottingham Forest for Arne Engels, but saw a journalist dub their capture of winger Joel Mvuka ‘weird’ with suggestions he will not improve the squad.

At the end of the recent January transfer window, Celtic were still left searching for players who could significantly improve the quality of the group for Martin O’Neill.

They eventually stumbled upon former Arsenal and Liverpool star Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had been without a club since last summer.

Though Oxlade-Chamberlain had been training with Arsenal, the proposed move was termed a ‘gamble’ by former Scotland international Alan Rough.

Now that the veteran has been officially unveiled as a Celtic player, McManus picked his best position in O’Neill’s team; Oxlade-Chamberlain is capable of playing in an advanced position, out wide, or in central midfield.

According to the 44-year-old, Celtic should look to use Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield, where Reo Hatate has been underperforming.

“I think there is definitely a spot for grabs in that Celtic midfield”, McManus said on the PLZ Soccer show (24.06).

“Reo Hatate for me is miles off the pace.

“I thought the game the other night was poor. He was fortunate to last 69 minutes.

“I think he [Oxlade-Chamberlain] can go and play there with [Arne] Engels and [Callum] McGregor.”

Given that Oxlade-Chamberlain is 32, McManus does not believe that he has the energy anymore to play out wide and should, therefore, be competing for places in the middle of the pitch.

“I think he is probably a central midfield player now.

“I don’t think he has got the legs to play wide.

“I think he will go and be competition for places in the middle of the park.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain struggled to make a big impact in Turkey with Besiktas, but did help the Black Eagles to lift the Turkish Cup in the 2023/24 campaign.

He had a big fan in the shape of former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who was certain over the impact he would make at Anfield when he arrived.

Experienced midfielder Jordan Henderson also appreciated Oxlade-Chamberlain at Anfield, dubbing him ‘massive’ for the club when fit.