£1.5m flop must now never play for Celtic again

With six new faces in the door at Parkhead over the winter, there is something of a bloated feel to Celtic’s squad right now, with Martin O’Neill desperately trying to make up for the club’s dismal summer of recruitment.

A mish-mash of signings has ensured that the 73-year-old now has two or three options to call upon in almost every position, if not more, although whether it’s a case of quantity over quality remains to be seen.

On Wednesday night against Livingston, for instance, a raft of high-profile names were all absent from the matchday squad, with Kelechi Iheanacho, Paulo Bernardo, Joel Mvuka and Michel Ange Balikwisha all not featuring, not to mention the long-term absentees such as Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand and Jota.

O’Neill, and rightly so, is having to get ruthless with his selection calls, albeit with few likely to have been surprised by yet another omission for Balikwisha, with the 24-year-old’s Parkhead journey already heading toward disaster territory.

What Balikwisha’s best position actually is

There’s no getting away from it, Celtic’s £5m investment in Balikwisha has backfired spectacularly, with the DR Congo international now merely a bystander to proceedings in Glasgow.

Indeed, there was an element of surprise that the Hoops didn’t attempt to move him on during the winter window, although perhaps there weren’t any takers for a player who is yet to score since moving to Scotland.

Chased for so long by the Parkhead hierarchy, the ex-Royal Antwerp man has simply never got going in a Celtic shirt, while no doubt impacted by a miserable spell on AFCON duty over the festive period.

Part of the problem appears to be the failure to nail down what the forward’s best position actually is, with Brendan Rodgers – speaking back in September – having been firm in his belief that Balikwisha is a “left-sided player“.

“I wanted to see him on that right side, but there’s no doubt his best position is from the left.” Rodgers on Balikwisha.

Fast forward to January, and O’Neill was very much of a different opinion, suggesting that the summer signing is “more of a number ten”, and “definitely not a wide player“.

That confusion certainly isn’t helping matters, with it perhaps wise to look back to why he flourished in Belgium, with his best work undoubtedly coming as a left-winger, racking up 32 goals and assists in 79 recorded games for Antwerp on that flank.

Balikwisha – Antwerp stats by position
Position	Games	Goals (Assists)
LW	79	19 (13)
AM	17	4 (2)
CF	6	0 (0)
RW	5	2 (2)
LM	3	1 (0)
SS	1	0 (0)
CM	1	0 (0)

Versatility is a blessing, but it appears to be a curse as far as Balikwisha is concerned, with the one-time Standard Liege only left with two assists to shout about in green and white.

At least, you could say, he’s made some form of impact.

Celtic flop should never play for the club again after January

It is a damning indictment that of all those signed last summer, only the returning Kieran Tierney and £1.7m man Benjamin Nygren can truly be considered a success, with Sebastian Tounekti only just beginning to flourish again after something of a lull.

Forget Tounekti: Celtic star is looking like another Jota in the making

Celtic have another exciting loan sensation who certainly deserves a permanent stay.

Indeed, Balikwisha has been shackled to the periphery, while both Osmand and Iheanacho have been hampered by injury for much of the campaign.

There’s also been the curious case of Hayato Inamura, shipped out on loan last month after repeatedly being overlooked in the first-half of the season, with the 23-year-old defender having been joined out the exit door by compatriot, Shin Yamada.

Signed from Reo Hatate’s former club, Kawasaki Frontale, on a £1.5m deal, Yamada’s time in Glasgow has almost been as forgettable as Balikwisha’s, considering his minimal involvement.

While not as high profile of a move as the £5m man, Yamada’s capture has arguably been even worse, considering he hasn’t registered a single goal or assist at all, subsequently joining German second-tier side, Preußen Münster, for the second half of the campaign.

In 11 outings in green and white, the struggling striker rarely looked up to scratch, having made the move to Glasgow after scoring just twice in the J League last term.

Perhaps those at Celtic were hoping for another coup in the mould of Kyogo Furuhashi, although, whereas the now Birmingham City man had scored 42 goals in 95 J League games for Vissel Kobe, Yamada had scored just 25 times in 86 games in the competition, prior to joining the Hoops.

A player who hadn’t been prolific, especially not last season, has unsurprisingly failed to deliver in green and white, a very similar case to Balikwisha, who had endured a disrupted 2024/25 campaign due to injury.

While the latter man does at least have the next few months to try and make some form of impression in a Celtic shirt, Yamada’s swift loan exit should surely mean that his time at Parkhead has already come and gone.