One former Hoops prodigy reckons the pathway to the first team was hard to get on during his three years in Glasgow’s East EndCeltic’s Daniel Church, Karamoko Dembele, Stephen Welsh, Ryan Mullen, Armstrong Oko-Flex and Ewan Henderson with the Ladbrokes Premiership trophy(Image: SNS Group)

Hopes were high when Celtic snapped up youngster Armstrong Oko-Flex from Arsenal back in 2018.

But the former England and Republic of Ireland youth international went on to make just two first team appearances for the Hoops before moving onto West Ham three years later.

Those two outings came in back-to-back Premiership matches against Hibernian and Livingston in January 2021, with the winger playing 39 minutes in total in two substitute appearances. The teen grew visibly frustrated at his failure to get opportunities under boss Neil Lennon, once appearing to blast the Hoops’ coaching staff on social media.

And in an open interview, Oko-Flex – who now turns out for Botev Plovdiv in Bulgaria after spells with Swansea City and FC Zurich – reckons that it was near enough ‘impossible’ for Celtic’s young crop to progress into the first team at the time. Speaking to the Irish Independent, he said: “A lot of talented young players were at Celtic as well as me but had to find a pathway outside of Celtic.

“I’m not saying it’s impossible to play in the first team there, but it depends on the management and the situation.”

The now 23-year-old did however enjoy working under Irish legend Damien Duff, who spent time on Lennon’s coaching staff during his second stint in the dugout, adding: “Damien is probably one of the top coaches I remember working with.”

Oko-Flex made just 16 appearances for Swiss side FC Zurich last season before heading to Bulgaria, where he has caught the eye with six goals in his first 14 matches.

And he believes the change of scenery has helped him kickstart his career again. “I was at Zurich, and the last few months weren’t the best for me, so I just wanted to go somewhere and be allowed to play, express myself and be given the chance”, he stated.

“The Bulgarian move came up as an option and it was a different challenge, and allowed me to grow as a player and as a person. So this new environment has been different and it’s been good for me.

“With us in Ireland and the UK, we probably don’t know much outside the top five leagues, which is understandable, and I feel like that was part of my mindset, to go somewhere where I’ll be allowed to be given the chance to play as much as possible.

Armstrong Oko-Flex during his time at Celtic in 2019(Image: SNS)

“Of course, there are always good and bad sides with every potential move you go to, and you just have to weigh it up as a player.”

Oko-Flex bagged four goals in six caps for Ireland at U21 level after switching his allegiances from England and hasn’t given up hope of becoming a full international for his country.

He said: “At this moment, there hasn’t been any [FAI] contact at all. I don’t know if they would come and watch my game here. Honestly, this is not something I was thinking about because I didn’t think that would happen.

“Regardless of what’s going on elsewhere, I just want to do my best here and see what can happen in the future. If it’s not the case now, maybe it could be the case later, or maybe the case in summer.

“We never know. I’ve played with a lot of the players in the squad and it’s good to see that they’re doing well there and they get the chance there. I feel like it shows every young player that if you do well and show what you can do, it’s very possible.”