Sebastian Tounekti thrilled as the signing of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as high-level winner and England star joins champions
Celtic unveil new signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain(Image: SNS Group)
Sebastian Tounekti reckons highest-level winner Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can have a huge impact on Celtic’s bid for double glory.
The 32-year-old was unveiled at Parkhead prior to the extra-time Scottish Cup win over Dundee.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has sealed a deal until the summer having been a free agent since leaving Turkish side Besiktas in August.
Capped 35 times by England, the midfielder has starred for Arsenal and Liverpool winning all of the major honours south of the border as well as a Champions League with Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield team in 2019.
Boss Martin O’Neill will assess Oxlade-Chamberlain’s condition in training as he admits he could get a debut against Livingston on Wednesday as the Premiership title resumes.
Tounekti is excited by the prospect of having the experienced star as a team-mate and said: “Yes, he’s a big name. He’s a big player and won a lot. The Champions League and the (Premier) league.
“I’m really pleased to have him here. I think he will help us a lot on the pitch and off the pitch. So it’s brilliant to have him here.”
Added to the nous of serial-Celtic medal winners such as Callum McGregor, Tounekti was asked if Oxlade-Chamberlain could be pivotal in helping the team in their bid to get over the silverware line this term and replied: “Of course. It’s no doubt that we want to go far in everything we are in. I think we just have to focus on each game because, as I said, we have lots of games.
“But he will be an important player for us because he’s a player with lots of experience. He has been playing at the highest level, so he will be really important for us.”
Celtic head back into the title battle with the game against Livingston after ensuring hopes of a Scottish Cup stayed intact with their dramatic win over Steven Pressley’s side.
O’Neill’s team toiled for lengthy periods and appeared to be heading out before rescuing the situation to scrape through in extra-time.
Celtic’s Sebastian Tounekti (C) celebrates with Benjamin Nygren, Luke McCowan and Junior Adamu (L-R) vs Dundee(Image: SNS Group)
Although lacking in quality for spells of the contest, there was no shortage of resilience and desire to dodge the exit and Tounekti said: “Yes, of course we will fight until the end. I feel like we are a young team and we’re learning and developing.
“We want to win every game, of course. We have a match like almost every day, so we have to just keep on going because every match is important when you have the logo of this team on it.”