Welcome to Celtic, Michel Ange Balikwisha

SACK THE BOARD

 

No got time to replace them before the window closes. We tried etc.

 

The forward has signed a five-year contract at the Bhoys after making the switch from Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp. An initial fee in the region of £4.5m was agreed for the former Belgium U21 international.

Seen as a priority addition, Balikwisha is set to provide the attacking reinforcement Rodgers has been desperately seeking. The Celtic manager has been short of wide players in the early weeks of the season – Nicolas Kuhn, one of last year’s standout performers, has departed for Como, Jota remains sidelined until next year, Marco Tilio joined Rapid Vienna and Luis Palma has gone on loan to Lech Poznan. Balikwisha was first linked with a move to Glasgow last summer – when an in-depth scouting report was published on The Celtic Way.

In this updated analysis, we’ll examine his performances across the 2024/25 season and consider how the 24-year-old might fit into Rodgers’ plans at Celtic Park this season.

Player Profile
Balikwisha spent his youth career at Anderlecht before moving to Standard Liege, where he made his professional debut in September 2020. He spent just one season with Standard before joining Antwerp in July 2021 for around £4m. Since then, he has gone on to make 145 appearances, scoring 30 goals and providing 17 assists.





Capped 10 times for Belgium at under-21 level, Balikwisha was part of Antwerp’s historic domestic double in 2022/23 and netted a decisive Champions League play-off goal against AEK Athens to secure group-stage football.

A productive 2023/24 season, which saw Balikwisha register 11 goal contributions (5G/6A), caught the attention of Celtic’s scouting department, but a move failed to materialise.

His 2024/25 campaign was then heavily disrupted by muscle injuries, which ruled him out of much of Antwerp’s regular league season. Despite this, he returned strongly in the Belgian Pro League play-offs, starting all 11 matches towards the tail-end of the campaign. Over the course of the season, he contributed four goals and three assists.

This season (2025/26), Balikwisha has started every Belgian Pro League game so far, playing mostly as the central attacking midfielder in Antwerp’s 3-5-2/3-4-1-2 formation. He has already opened his account with a penalty in a 3-1 victory over Leuven.




Data Analysis
The chart below, built using Wyscout per-90 data converted into percentile ranks, offers a snapshot of Balikwisha’s performance in the 24/25 season. Generated using Ben Griffis’ Best 11 Scouting App, the metrics compare Balikwisha against other central and attacking midfielders in the Belgian Pro League last season. This includes 53 players who played a minimum of 1,000 minutes, and provides some insights into his contributions across attack, possession and defence.

Although injuries restricted him to just over 1,200 league minutes, limiting the sample size, there are still signals in the data that are consistent with the robust profile that was identified last summer.





Goal Threat
Balikwisha’s goal threat certainly comes through again. Last season, he ranked in the top 10 per cent for touches in the penalty box (3.26 per 90) while his finishing metrics are also encouraging – his non-penalty xG per shot (0.13) and non-penalty goals (0.28 per 90) both placing him among the league’s best in 24/25.

Although his overall shot volume (1.25 per 90) sat closer to the league average in last season’s Belgian Pro League, the quality and efficiency of his attempts stand out. This efficiency-driven profile underlines that Balikwisha is not a high-volume shooter but a player who times his movements well and gets into high-quality scoring positions.

Chance Creation
In terms of chance creation, Balikwisha posted a strong 1.53 shot assists per 90 last season, in the top 10 per cent, and an above average expected assists (xA) value of 0.14 per 90. However, when the quality of chances is considered, his expected assists per shot (0.09) falls into the below-average range, indicating that although he created opportunities for his teammates at a steady enough rate last season, they were not always the highest quality chances.

Passing and Carrying
Elsewhere on-the-ball, Balikwisha showed a mix of strengths and limitations in his curtailed 2024/25 campaign. His progressive carries (1.94 per 90) sees him rank in the top 10 per cent, reflecting his ability to drive play forward through carries. This is supported by his above-average acceleration with the ball (0.28 per 90).

His willingness to commit defenders is evident but his dribble success rate (42.9 per cent) was just below average though, pointing to some inconsistency there. Passing-wise, he was generally tidy – short and medium pass completion (86.7 per cent) and smart pass accuracy (66.7 per cent) were both above average.

Finally, on his in possession work, both his long passes (54.2 per cent) and crossing accuracy (29.7 per cent) sat closer to average for a player in his position in the Belgian Pro League last season.

Off-the-ball
Defensively, his numbers look modest in 2024/25. His aerial win rate (33.3%) was below average, while his pAdj tackles & interceptions (4.39 per 90) and defensive actions (7.22 per 90) placed him around league average.

Context is important, however. In 2023/24, across a larger data sample, Balikwisha ranked significantly higher for his defensive actions, reflecting greater intensity out of possession. Last season’s dip could well be explained by disrupted rhythm due to injury and positional changes between left wing and central attacking midfield, roles with very different defensive demands. As such, his 2024/25 defensive profile likely underplays his true work rate.

It is also worth, when considering Balikwisha’s overall data profile from last season, adding the context that Antwerp averaged 53.3 per cent possession in the Belgian Pro League last season, the fourth-highest in the division (Opta via FBref). That ball-dominant environment, although not totally aligned to just how dominant Celtic are, is close to what Balikwisha will step into in Scotland, where Brendan Rodgers’ side regularly control possession domestically.

The fact that his standout attacking and ball-progression metrics came within a possession-heavier system indicates his skill set should translate well. His ability to carry the ball, penetrate the box and get to high-quality shooting positions indicate plenty of value in breaking down compact defences in Scotland while also offering a counter-attacking outlet in Europe.




Tactical fit at Celtic?
Celtic’s forward line is likely to undergo further changes before the conclusion of the transfer window at the end of the month, with a right-sided winger and another centre-forward reported to be on the manager’s shopping list in the final days on the window.

At this stage, with Adam Idah’s well-documented struggles at centre-forward and other options, Johnny Kenny and Shin Yamada, yet to hit the heights, Balikwisha’s arrival offers Rodgers another quality option on the left wing – particularly in Jota’s extended absence. If another striker is not brought in, this would also allow Daizen Maeda to move from his current position on the left to centre-forward, a position many consider the Japanese international’s best. If a new centre-forward does arrive, Rodgers would also have the option of shifting Maeda to the right, with Balikwisha retaining the left, or utilising one from the bench.

Given his experience as a central attacking midfielder, Balikwisha could also provide another option in one of Rodgers’ two number 8 roles in the midfield three. He would bring a more attack-minded presence here, underlined by his goal threat – a profile Celtic have actively sought, as demonstrated by Benjamin Nygren’s arrival from Nordsjaelland. While Balikwisha is a more natural winger, Nygren can play wide while offering versatility to cover several midfield and forward positions.

His injury troubles last season, and the protracted nature of his move to Glasgow, may temper expectations for some. However, Balikwisha should ultimately prove a quality, and potentially very exciting, addition in an area of the pitch that has been in much need of reinforcement.

 

I think we are underestimating how good this boy is.

Antwerp fans are gutted. He was one of the main men in the most successful period in over 65 years for the club in a league full of quality teams such as Club Brugge, Anderlecht etc. Big game player.

 

Hope he starts Sunday. Throw him in the fire and let's see how he copes.

 

Pretty much an acceptable answer to anything posted on here ever, even that sexy female thread the perverts have.

 

We should all make more posts over their so we can tut away and say how terrible it is to be posting such things.

 

Forward passing would probably be more prevalent in our play if we had forwards who could trap the football.

There were 30-40 occasions on Tuesday where the balled bounced straight off Yang to a Kairat player, or Maeda, closely followed by a daft foul.

I’d think twice about playing it forward to them.

 

were some team.

 

Hard to believe it was same team that played so well against Bayern. Defo think theres a few not wanting to be there anymore

 

Not sure our midfielders or defence are much better at trapping the football than our forwards

 

Needs to start Sunday. No doubt about it.

 

Oft. Thats a hun smashing debut i see in those eyes.

 

Defo man defo

 

Rodgers says he’s been playing, fit, strong and ready.

He did say “if needed”.

 

Do you feel Balikwisha is capable of making an impact on Sunday?

Yeah, he's been playing. He's obviously fit and strong and he's been playing games. So, he's ready-made to play if needed.




I know Michel-Ange Balikwisha, obviously, was confirmed last night.

It's great. We're getting a player in the building that we've seen for a period of time over the last year, and I like his talent and I think he's got that skill set to play for Celtic, you know, he's an exciting player who works very, very hard.

I'm delighted to get him in

 

Aye Brendan he's needed

 

Start him.