news-engine

Michael-Ange Balikwisha could be heading out of Celtic after just one season, with Monza, Basel and Elversberg all reported to have watched the winger. Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri says the 25-year-old is set to leave Glasgow. There is no agreement in place yet, but it would be hard to describe an exit as a shock given how little football he has managed since arriving from Royal Antwerp. Celtic paid around £5 million for Balikwisha after tracking him for some time. Twelve months later, he has 273 minutes and two starts to show for it. That kind of return is hard to get away from, especially when the club did not stumble into the deal at the last minute. Balikwisha was someone Celtic had identified and pursued for almost two years, then backed with a significant fee and a five-year contract. He didn’t do much of anything although he did register an assist that ultimately helped Celtic win the league. His cross for Daizen Maeda’s late winner against Motherwell was one of the few moments where he made an impact. The problem was that those moments were buried inside a season where he was rarely trusted enough to build any momentum. Brendan Rodgers saw him up close and barely used him. Wilfried Nancy came in for his short and ill-fated spell and nothing really changed. Martin O’Neill is now in charge and Balikwisha has not made either of Celtic’s opening two league squads. Three managers have now had a look at the same player and arrived in roughly the same place. Balikwisha did appear determined to give himself a better chance this summer. He spent time training individually in Belgium and returned for pre-season looking to force his way back into contention. That effort has not yet been rewarded with a place in O’Neill’s team or even on the bench. The competition around him has also changed. Celtic have added quality in Kasper Høgh, Camilo Duran, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur this summer, giving O’Neill more attacking options and making an already difficult route into the side even harder. His inclusion in the Champions League play-off squad for LASK is interesting, but it does not outweigh what has happened domestically. If a manager is leaving you out entirely in the opening league games, that usually tells you more than a name on a European squad list. The financial side of this will be awkward for Celtic too. Balikwisha still has four years left on his deal, so they are under no immediate pressure to sell, but interested clubs will know he is not playing and appears to be well down the pecking order. There have been worse Celtic players over the years and there have been transfers that ended in more spectacular failure, but pound for pound Balikwisha has to be in the conversation if this is where his time in Glasgow ends. Around £5 million. Two starts. 273 minutes. Those numbers are difficult to dress up.