Brendan Rodgers sets Michel-Ange Balikwisha record straight as Celtic winger’s position made clear

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Michel-Ange Balikwisha was a long-awaited arrival for Celtic.

The 24-year-old arrived from Royal Antwerp at the back end of the transfer window and made his debut in the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox, having been pursued by the Hoops for over a year.

This wasn’t an ideal environment for the Belgian youth international – and his lack of bedding-in time was a frustration for manager Brendan Rodgers.

Had Balikwisha come in at the same time as Benjamin Nygren, he may well have contributed to the Hoops’ Champions League qualifier, which ended in disaster against Kairat Almaty.

But now he is two appearances into his career, Rodgers has made his best position clear after a tough start.

There’s ‘no doubt’ about Michel-Ange Balikwisha’s best position says Brendan Rodgers

Balikwisha played on the left-wing against Rangers, but moved onto the right side against Kilmarnock to accommodate fellow new signing Sebastian Tounekti.

READ MORE: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers sends targeted message to ex-Rangers boss

Speaking on his struggles ahead of Sunday’s encounter with Partick Thistle, Rodgers took some of the responsibility for the situation.

He said: “To be fair, that’s on me. The boy’s a left-sided player. Bali’s a really technically gifted player, he has great footballing qualities. His best side is on the left side, but he’s played in other positions.

“He’s played on the right hand side, previously in his career he’s played as a 10, he’s played as an eight. So he’s played across that frontline.

“I wanted to see him on that right side, but there’s no doubt that his best position is from the left. And even if Sebastian is to play there, and he sits out the game or whatever else, we still need two really impactful wingers that can play.

“We thought Daizen was going, so we needed to make sure we were covered. Obviously we weren’t able to get what we wanted on the right side, so I wanted to try him in this process of finding out about players because they’re just in the door.

“But there’s no doubt he’s much more comfortable on the left side.”

Sebastian Tounekti could be a transformative signing for Celtic

Given the performance that Tounekti put up in his debut, Balikwisha can’t be blamed if he doesn’t take the spot on the left away from him.

Hoops fans weren’t aware of the Tunisian until the last week of the transfer window – but now, it feels like he’s everyone’s new favourite player.

It may just be one appearance, but Tounekti’s performance was encouraging, both to the eyes and statistically. He completed five dribbles in the match – Balikwisha completed none.

Given the importance of attacking reinforcements for the Hoops boss ahead of the transfer window, both Balikwisha and Tounekti will be decisive signings.