Michel-Ange Balikwisha started for Celtic as pre-season got underway in Ireland on Tuesday evening.
While Lionel Messi and Argentina were stealing the headlines at the World Cup following a stunning comeback win against Egypt.
Celtic recorded a 1-1 draw against Shelbourne, with 22 players featuring for Martin O’Neill’s side in the club’s opening pre-season friendly of the summer.
Balikwisha struggled at Celtic last season, as Kenny Cunningham watched the winger up close and personal in Dublin, and there was one glaring issue he noticed, as he told Premier Sports.
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How did Michel-Ange Balikwisha perform in Celtic’s first pre-season game of 2026
“His approach play has been really good up until a point on the edge of the box,” said Cunningham. “He has been showing, getting on the half turn, little kind of combinations.
“That shot there, it didn’t really lack any conviction. But he got the ball just five minutes previously in the box. He could have got that shot off earlier.
“He just has to be a little bit hungrier inside the box for goals, Balikwisha. Very nice on the eye, isn’t he? But he needs that end product.”
Can Martin O’Neill reignite Balikwisha’s belief?
Celtic fans won’t like it, but Balikwisha deserves another chance. That doesn’t mean that the club turn down offers for his services, if a reasonable amount of money is put on the table, then you sell.
But he, at the very least, deserves pre-season to prove to the likes of O’Neill that he is still worthy of representing the champions of Scotland.
Remember, Balikwisha didn’t have a pre-season with Celtic when he signed from Royal Antwerp for £5 million last summer.
But he will get the chance to prove his worth now.
This is where someone like O’Neill and his coaching staff need to be trusted, because Hyunjun Yang is an example of how you can turn things around.
After 80-odd games for Celtic, Yang wasn’t deemed good enough for the Hoops, and even he could have left Glasgow last summer.
But with 112 Celtic appearances under his belt, the South Korean star is starting to look the part in the famous green and white colours.
Don’t get it twisted, Balikwisha isn’t going to be given the luxury of playing that many games to turn his fortunes around, but this is a huge pre-season for him, and let’s see if he can produce.
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