Celtic chase Craig Bellamy transfer 'utopia' - but there's one big difference this time around

Oxlade-Chamberlain is due to complete his medical on Saturday and pen a contract until the end of the season with Celtic. The 32-year-old is a free agent after leaving Turkish side Besiktas last August and has recently been training with one of his former clubs Arsenal.

A Premier League winner with the Gunners, Oxlade-Chamberlain also landed the Champions League with Liverpool and has 35 England caps to his name. O’Neill hopes he can add some stardust to his team and likened his arrival to that of Craig Bellamy during his first spell as Celtic boss. The Welsh striker joined on loan from Newcastle in 2005 and scored seven goals in 12 matches.

“Oh that would be lovely,” said O’Neill when asked if Oxlade-Chamberlain can add an X-factor like Bellamy did. “That would be utopia if he could do that. It's hard to do, it might be difficult, the difference being Bellamy was super fit at the time that he joined us. He was a player playing in a big league, he'd just had a bit of a fall-out [with Newcastle manager Graeme Souness]. Bellamy was at the top of the game at that time. If he has half the impact that Bellamy made for us ...”

O’Neill does not doubt the ability that Oxlade-Chamberlain has and believes he can get up to speed quickly. “Obviously my impression of him as a player is he's been high quality,” continued O’Neill. “He's played at a very, very top level. For whatever reason, he chose to leave the country when he was about 29 or 30.

“He said on the phone to me the first time that he had about three or four managers [at Besiktas]. Somebody signed him and then left relatively quickly. Then the next one came in and I don't think he got on too well with him. So it's been like that, back and forward. But he's definitely got some calibre.

“He's here until the end of the season so he can quickly get up to speed with games. He's been training, if everything is to be believed, with Arsenal. Well, at this minute Arsenal are one of the strongest teams in Europe.

“So if he's training with high-quality players, it can only be a benefit to him. If they even thought about taking him on as a back-up, probably not playing for them at any stage because they've got so many good players, it says a lot about him. He's got a bit of quality. It's whether he has the fitness and the desire. I think the desire should be there. It's a matter of how quickly he gets up to speed.”