Celtic FC have entered the transfer market as Scottish champions for the third time in the row. In the 2023/24 season they won Premiership title along with Scottish Cup under the guidance of Brendon Rodgers. After his successful first season in Glasgow, Rodgers is looking to strengthen the squad to compete at the highest level. Celtic have qualified for the newly formatted UEFA Champions League and will not look to repeat last season. Parkhead finished last in the 2023/24 Champions League which caused huge disappointment amongst the fans. In order to improve the squad, Celtic are linked with some of the top talents across the world. Along with some names who have proved themselves in Premier League, Celtic are linked with Michael-Ange Balikwisha of Royal Antwerp.
Kasper Schmeichel is set to join Celtic. Along with him, Parkhead are considering to add another goalkeeper in an order to create more depth. The club is linked with 22 year old Viljami Sinisalo of Aston Villa. Sinisalo spent the 2023/24 season on loan to Exter City. In his 45 appearances, Sinisalo kept 13 clean sheets along with saving 3 out of 8 penalties faced.
Scottish Champions linked with Royal Antwerp’s winger
Celtic enjoyed a good goalscoring spell in the 2023/24 season. Daizen Maeda was very consistent throughout the last season. He scored 10 goals and provided 4 assists in 36 appearances across all competitions. On the other hand, Luis Palma enjoyed a great season by scoring 10 goals and assisting 10 too. However both Maeda and Palma play on left wing. In contrast, no player on the right wing was consistent and that area seems significantly weak when compared to other parts of field.
Balikwisha primarily plays on the left wing too, however he is equally effective on the right flank too. In addition, he can play as a second striker covering the whole frontline. He is 23 years old and is known for his amazing pace, dribbling skills and both goalscoring and goal creating abilities. Brendon Rodgers believes that the addition of Balikwisha could inject Celtic’s attack with fresh ideas and energy.
Balikwisha to Celtic FC
Celtic and Royal Antwerp are set to hold talks about Balikwisha’s future. Balikwisha helped Royal Antwerp win their first league title in 66 years in the 2022/23 season. In addition, the 23 year old has played crucial role in winning Belgian cup and Super Cup with Antwerp. Royal Antwerp are super happy with Balikwisha and are in no hurry to sell him. Royal Antwerp’s CEO Sven Jaecques told Balikwisha will cost a large fee to the interested parties. In addition, Jaecques said that there will not be too many outgoings transfers.
“A number of players think they can make a transfer. But that will not be possible for everyone. There will certainly be one or two large outgoing transfers. If certain amounts are put on the table, you cannot refuse. Those amounts can give the organisation more oxygen” – Sven Jacques talking to HLN about transfer activities.
Royal Antwerp signed Michael-Ange Balikwisha for around €5 million in 2021. However his current market value is €9 million according to Transfermarkt. Celtic will need to pay at least more than €7 million if they want to get their hands on Balikwisha.
Balikwisha in 2023/24 season
Balikwisha finished the last season with scoring 10 goals and providing 7 assists across all competitions. The 23 year old winger was superb in the Belgian League having made 33 appearances. In those 33 appearances, Balikwisha scored 7 goals and provided 5 assists. The versatile winger also made 7 Champions League appearances. On the Europe’s greatest footballing stage, Balikwisha scored 2 amazing goals along with assisting one. Celtic FC will be glad to use this experience at the highest level and strengthen their squad.
For more football updates, make sure to follow us on:
