A Glasgow Derby debut for new Bhoy Michel-Ange Balikwisha | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers should be throwing his new signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha into the starting Celtic XI on Sunday against theRangers at Ibrox…

Balikwisha passed his medical tests, signed his contract and has done his ‘welcome to Celtic’ interview with Celtic TV. He will be training today at Lennoxtown ahead of this weekend’s Glasgow Derby encounter.

Celtic could have signed him for £4.5 million 18 months ago but decided to hold off, low-ball, linger, wait for a better deal, and sign him for… [you guessed it]£4.5 million 18 months later. Even if they’d bitten the bullet and signed him 18 days ago our European campaign might have been decided yesterday rather than today.

The 24-year-old wide man has been on Brendan Rodgers’ radar since the Irishman returned to Glasgow, but two major injuries disrupted much of his 2024/25 campaign with Royal Antwerp after the initial links to the club.

Concerns about his fitness and chances of passing medical checks were eased earlier in the week, with reports indicating the former Belgium U21 international completed his examination without any issues.

After bidding farewell to Antwerp fans and teammates during last week’s match against KV Mechelen — one he didn’t feature in — his £4.5 million switch to Celtic has now been finalised, with confirmation of his permanent move to the Scottish champions coming last night, as reported on The Celtic Star.

Able to operate on either flank and occasionally as a no.10, Balikwisha featured 145 times for Antwerp after arriving from Standard Liege in 2021, registering 30 goals and 17 assists across all competitions during his four-year spell.

We have seen in previous seasons players being handed their debut in big games, and surely Balikwisha should be no different this Sunday.

The team needs freshened up in the forward areas and if fit, Rodgers should not hesitate to throw Balikwisha into the chaos that will inevitably ensue at Ibrox.

With doubts lingering over Adam Idah and Yang’s future at the club (Idah looks set to leave, he has a medical today ahead o a £7m move to Swansea), a front three of James Forrest, Daizen Maeda and Balikwisha would hopefully add some energy to a side which badly needs attacking reinforcements.

Balikwisha should be joined shortly by Danish striker Kasper Dolberg who apparently has arrived in Glasgow with his agent this morning, and if he signs today he too could get thrown into the fray at Ibrox, with Forrest dropping to the bench and Daizen going to the wing.

Better late than never but nevertheless welcome to Celtic Michel-Ange! Now go and makke a name for yourself on Sunday!

Conor Spence

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.

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