Celtic look to have lift-off in the transfer market as several names circulate as potential arrivals on the scene at Parkhead.
Veteran free agent stopper Kasper Schmeichel will undergo his medical tomorrow ahead of signing on the dotted line; meanwhile, Aston Villa’s Viljami Sinisalo could give the goalkeeping department a whole new complexion under Brendan Rodgers.
Moving up the field, talks are still ongoing to try and solicit returns for Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah, with the former leaving Benfica’s training camp to continue negotiations surrounding a switch.
On the flanks, Royal Antwerp’s Michel-Ange Balikwisha has been identified as a Celtic target to bolster the wide areas. According to reports, dialogue has already taken place and further discussions are set to take place later this week amid the Hoops’ desire for guile in the final third.
Quality over quantity appears to be the aim for Rodgers, and Balikwisha would definitely fit the bill as a statement signing this summer.
Brendan Rodgers makes productivity the priority
Looking across the squad, Celtic have quite a few wingers to choose from. Nevertheless, last season, the desired quality in chance creation or goals wasn’t always met, leading to frustration at times.
James Forrest’s campaign ended well; nevertheless, Rodgers has already admitted that his influence has to be managed due to his stamina levels. Nicolas Kuhn, Luis Palma and Hyunjun Yang have flickered in and out of consistency this year while Daizen Maeda has a unique skillset in comparison.
In light of this, there is a need for reinforcements out wide. Balikwisha registered ten goals and eight assists from 44 appearances last season, so he certainly offers an encouraging output as a potential arrival.
Per Fotmob, the 23-year-old shone in the Belgian top-flight across 2023/24, creating 50 chances, having 129 touches in the opposition penalty area, and completing 23 successful dribbles.
Defensively, he also chimed in with some valuable contributions, including 55 successful tackles (76.4% win rate of contested), 152 duels won and 31 interceptions, illustrating he can be just as competent doing the dirty side of the game.
Antwerp’s Champions League appearance last term yielded a famous victory over Barcelona, albeit their only three points of the group stage.
Balikwisha scored against AEK Athens in qualifying before delivering a solitary goal against Shakhtar Donetsk in an eventual 3-2 defeat, so he also has valuable European experience, ending as their joint-top scorer in the competition [Champions League].
Since returning to Glasgow’s east end, Rodgers has made his desire to bring ‘quality’ signings to Celtic known. Looking at the statistics, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Belgian winger falls under that bracket.
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