Celtic have signed former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The England international is a free agent and has joined the Scottish Championship side until the end of the season, with the option to extend his term for a further 12 months.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is the fifth player to be signed since manager Martin O’Neill returned on a temporary basis for a second time this season.

sky sports news The Celtics revealed their interest in the 32-year-old earlier this week, with O’Neal confirming it The player hopes to move to the club after new talks on Friday.

He has been training with former club Arsenal since ending his contract with Turkish side Besiktas in August.

O’Neill said: “We are really pleased to bring Alex to Celtic. He still has a lot to offer the game and I believe he can add another dimension to us with his outstanding ability and rich experience of the game.

“On top of that, he is personally passionate and excited about the move, so we welcome a great player who is eager to help us achieve our goals as much as possible.”

talking celtic tv“It’s been a busy few days, but I’m happy and excited,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said. “After speaking to the manager I felt it was the perfect fit for me and I felt I could come in and help the lads.

“Just spoke to the manager and Sean Maloney and he told me what to expect from the club, what it means to play here, what our goals are and he’s going to push me.

“That’s everything I identify with, that’s the environment I’ve been in and I’ve been blessed to be in.

“It’s exactly what I needed. I needed another challenge and was lucky enough to be at such a big club. They can help me get back to where I need to be and, more importantly, help the team achieve what we want to achieve.”

The 35-cap England player joins new loanees Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu, Joel Mvuka and Benjamin Arthur as the Hoops look to catch up Hearts front-runners in Scottish Premiership title race.

Julian Araujo also joined Celtic on loan from Bournemouth during the January transfer window, with Wilfried Nancy in charge.

He is likely to make his debut in Celtic’s next league game on Wednesday, when they face bottom side Livingston, before traveling to second-bottom Kilmarnock on Sunday – Sky Sports Live.

However, Oxlade-Chamberlain will not be available for this tournament Next up is the Europa League knockout play-off against Stuttgartbecause his registration was not completed in time.

Instead, O’Neill added Chiwankara, Araujo and Adamu to his European squad, meaning deadline-day arrivals Arthur and Mwuka will also be missing.