It is SPFL fixture release day and as Premiership champions, Celtic will have a home game on the opening weekend, 2/3 August.
But, how many new signings will Brendan Rodgers have on board in time for his team’s first pre-season match on 4 July?
Well, Celtic have already added Kieran Tierney to their ranks, re-signing the left-back after he became a free agent, while they’ve also reportedly agreed a fee of £1.7m to land winger Benjamin Nygren in the coming days.
The Hoops are not content with just one attacking signing, however.
Celtic chasing a new winger
According to a report by RMC Sport, talks between Celtic and Royal Antwerp are “underway” as the Hoops seek to sign Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who he claims is ‘keen on the move’ to Scotland.
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Meantime, Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider has previously reported that Celtic are ‘well-placed’ to make this deal come to fruition, describing the winger as a ‘long-term target’.
Balikwisha, who is 24 years old, began his senior career at Standard Liège, before joining Royal Antwerp in July 2021, making 141 appearances for the Reds to date, scoring 29 goals and registering 17 assists.
He was a key figure in the Antwerp team that won the domestic treble in 2023, the club’s first Jupiler Pro League title for 66 years, then scoring the goal against AEK Athens that saw them qualify for the Champions League for the very first time, also on target against Shakhtar Donetsk at Bosuilstadion in the tournament’s group stages.
This season though, Antwerp missed out on European qualification altogether, disastrously beaten 2-1 by Royal Charleroi in a European play-off last month, fuelling speculation that he could be on the move, and hence why the club are looking to cash in.
How Michel-Ange Balikwisha would improve Celtic
Celtic are in the market for a new winger this summer, partially due to the fact that Jota will be sidelined for between “six to nine months” after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at Tannadice in April.
So, would Balikwisha be a good replacement? Let’s assess his statistics.
Minutes
1,784
99th
Goals
7
17th
Assists
6
9th
Progressive carries
85
10th
Carries into penalty area
34
9th
Shot-creating actions
69
30th
Goal-creating actions
10
13th
Big chances created
6
40th
Key passes per match
1.5
24th
Average SofaScore rating
7.32
14th
Worth noting that the 2023/24 season was chosen because, similar to Jota, Balikwisha is coming off a long-term injury, requiring knee surgery just over a year ago, before a meniscus injury saw him make just three appearances this season before 9 March.
After that, he did enjoy a run of games, starting each of Antwerp’s final 11 matches to conclude the campaign.
Despite his injury issues, analyst Ben Mattinson labels him an “amazing” talent, describing him as “two-footed” and “capable of beating a defender either way”. That certainly suggests he’d be a great replacement for the injury-stricken Jota.
Meantime, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout believes he operates best as an “inside forward”, praising his “pace, dribbling and finishing”, which he believes to be his strongest attributes.
Said to be one of the most ‘talented attacking players’ in the Belgian top-flight by Lee Scott of Total Football Analysis, that’s high praise considering Global Football Rankings believes the Jupiler Pro League to be the eighth-strongest division in the world; for context, the Scottish Premiership is all the way down in 43rd.
Given that Balikwisha has just one year remaining on his contract at Antwerp, it would appear as though Celtic will be able to sign him at a cut-price, and he seemingly has all the qualities to thrive in Glasgow’s East End.
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