Celtic assistant Shaun Maloney believes there is much more to come from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after backing the midfielder to have a “really big season” at Parkhead.
The 33-year-old impressed at the base of midfield during Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Falkirk, dictating play and showing flashes of his trademark ability to drive forward from deep.
Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Celtic as a free agent in February after spending five months without a club following his departure from Besiktas. He made 12 appearances during the run-in last season, scoring twice, but struggled to make a consistent impact during a fiercely contested title race.
Maloney, however, believes an extended period of work at Lennoxtown has helped the former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder reach a much stronger physical condition.
“Now, Alex has had a sustained period of training,” Maloney said via TCW. “He’s done more training with us, more than any other player really. A lot of the extra work.
“Haissem Hassan started to join that. You’re starting to look at Alex now and the condition that he’s in, he can go and perform. I still think there’s more, but I hope he has a really big season for us.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain brings considerable experience to Martin O’Neill’s squad, having made 235 Premier League appearances across spells with Arsenal and Liverpool.
He has also won the Premier League, Champions League, four FA Cups, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup during a decorated career.
Maloney believes Celtic are now beginning to see more of the qualities that made Oxlade-Chamberlain such an effective player at the highest level.
“Alex has been an unbelievable player,” Maloney added. “Extremely powerful, can drive with the ball from the middle of the pitch. I think you saw that once against Falkirk.
“It’s probably the first time I’ve seen him do that out with training. He can do it in training. But it’s the first time I’ve probably seen him do it in a game.
“He’s getting there. He’s really getting there. I think he does things that other midfielders don’t have. You’ve heard me talk about profiles and things players can do. He can do things you can’t coach. It’s just trying to get him in a condition where he’s really competent to go 100 per cent at each game.”
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1 Comment
The OX oozes quality , he has experience at the very top and the younger lads can do the extra running for him. I think he will have a very good season barring injuries. 🍀