Michel-Ange Balikwisha heading for the exit door, despite being named in Celtic’s 25 man Champions League playoff squad…
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Just a year after his £5 million move from Royal Antwerp, Celtic outcast Michel-Ange Balikwisha looks set to leave the club, with several clubs said to be interested in the Congolese international.
The former Belgian under 21 international, who the club were believed to have been tracking for quite some time, ended up making just 14 appearances in the Hoops, with most of those coming from the bench.
Despite appearing in some pre-season fixtures this summer, Balikwisha has failed to make the squad for the first two games of the campaign, and it now seems certain that Martin O’Neill doesn’t believe the 25 year old has any future at the club.
And it’s probably a relief to all concerned that he could be set to leave before the end of the transfer window according to a report from a decent source.
Transfer guru Sacha Tavolieri last night revealed that a transfer is imminent, noting that the player is a casualty of Martin O’Neill’s tactical approach. That’s not the case at all, Balikwisha has failed to stamp any kind of impact at Celtic, even when given a start against Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup tie at Rugby Park.
Tavolieri says that three clubs are interested in acquiring Balikwisha, with one of those clubs being newly promoted Serie A side AC Monza, whilst Swiss side FC Basel, and Bundesliga new boys SV Elversberg are also said to be seriously interested in the player.
News of Balikwisha’s exit comes on the same day that he was named in Martin O’Neill’s 25 man squad for the upcoming Champions League play off matches with Austrian champions LASK.
The 25 man squad named by Martin is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Viljami Sinisalo, Ross Doohan
Defenders: Liam Scales, Auston Trusty, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Dane Murray, Anthony Ralston, Kieran Tierney
Midfielders: Hyunjun Yang, Luke McCowan, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mika Baur, Arne Engels, Callum McGregor, James Forrest
Forwards: Benjamin Nygren, Kasper Hogh, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Camilo Duran, Sebastian Tounekti, Callum Osmand, Haissem Hassan, Johnny Kenny, Adam Montgomery.
It’s a strong selection, although Arne Engels will be missing as he’s on the verge of completing his £25 million move to West Ham, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss the both legs due to a red card picked up when he was playing for Liverpool back at the tail end of 2023.
The Ox will also miss Celtic’s third European match as he was given a three match ban for that offence.
🇨🇩 EXCL – Michel-Ange Balikwisha set to leave Celtic Glasgow!
☘️ The Congolese player is a casualty of Martin O’Neill’s tactical approach.
🔄 AC Monza, FC Basel and SV 07 Elversberg have scouted Balikwisha, but the race for his signature remains wide open.
👀 One to watch.… pic.twitter.com/OYbkR7kQEZ
— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) August 14, 2026
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2 Comments
Is Hatate playing in goal,since there are no goalkeepers named in the squad ??
It was always going to be on the cards that balikwisha would be moving on? Especially when he wasn’t able to produce nothing during pre season?
So any deal for him only really involves trying to recoup as much money, that was wasted upon him?
Doubtful we will get anything close to the 5M, so potentially a loan deal with the option to buy, might be the best we can hope for imo?
Doesn’t bother me to much, that some signings just don’t work out, as it happens at every club in the footballing world?
An expensive mistake, who is hardly the first, and won’t be the last either imo?
Our 25man European squad, can only be regarded as a parliamentary European squad, which will have numerous changes, before a finalised 25man squad is in place for the league phase?
So any additional players, can be fitted into the squad, potentially in the expense of Engels and balikwisha?
Monty still having to fulfill our homegrown requirements?
So still unclear if that will remain the same, along with Kenny and Hatate currently included?
So still a considerable amount of work required, with decisions to be taken, along with additional players?
Before we can make claims that our overall 25man European squad, is in a decent position for a decent enough European campaign?
Still should have a decent enough team in operation for the CL qualification games, all the same?
Even if the high risk of injuries to key players, is still in operation for these qualification games?