Celtic are now reportedly open to selling one of their top stars in the summer, against the wishes of manager Martin O’Neill.
Celtic to sign Oxlade-Chamberlain
As rumors surface about one star player, another is reportedly close to signing for Celtic. According to recent reports, the Bhoys are set to welcome free agent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain four months after leaving Besiktas.
Anthony Joseph removes important update on Celtic negotiations to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
The Boys are coming…
The former Liverpool and Arsenal man has won everything in English football and is set to join O’Neill’s side as they embark on a sensational comeback in the Scottish Premiership.
Manager O’Neill confirmed the news of the midfielder’s impending arrival, revealing he will undergo a medical before officially signing on the dotted line.
“I spoke to him this morning (Friday). He wants to come and I think he will come. I would have thought he had a lot of options.”
“I think there was even talk that Arsenal, where he’s training, might take him in because they could have a few injuries. So he said he’s happy for him to come. So he’ll have a medical tomorrow and I think everything’s fine. I hope he signs.”
The big question is whether Oxlade-Chamberlain is ready to make an immediate impact. He has not played since leaving Turkey in the summer, but has been training with Premier League leaders and champions Arsenal in recent months.
There were reports that Celtic could turn to Tiemoue Bakayoko instead, given that the former Chelsea player is also a free agent, but Oxlade-Chamberlain always looked like O’Neill’s man.
But amidst all the positives, there may still be some bad news for the veteran manager, who could lose players he desperately wants to keep in the summer.
Despite O’Neill’s despair, Celtic are open to selling Arne Engels
According to Football Insider, Celtic are currently open to selling Arne Engels in the summer if a club like Nottingham Forest come back with an offer comparable to the £25m they made on deadline day.
O’Neill was delighted for his club when they got back in the closing stages of what would have been a record-breaking game, but he may have believed a postponement was inevitable.
Celtic’s highest ever turnover | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
rank | player | commission | Sales destination | year |
=1 | matt o’reilly | £25m | brighton | 2024 |
=1 | who | £25m | Al Ittihad | 2023 |
=1 | Kieran Tierney | £25m | arsenal | 2019 |
4 | Moussa Dembele | £19.7m | lyon | 2018 |
5 | nicholas kuhn | £16.5m | as | 2025 |
Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke said: “It was a huge offer from Forest. The third bid was around £25 million and in normal circumstances Celtic would have taken that amount had they had time to bring in a replacement.
“Given the current situation, with the team rather thin and fighting to retain the Scottish Premiership title with Hearts and Rangers, manager Martin O’Neill could not afford to let Arne Engels go. He was so keen to keep him that the big money offer was turned down.”
