Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy’s eyes were quickly opened to how difficult the job was after losing his first two games in charge of the club.
The French tactician is now preparing for Sunday’s League Cup final against St Mirren after losing 2-1 to Hearts on Sunday and 3-0 to Roma on Thursday at Parkhead.
While Nancy’s tactics and systems can be criticized and blamed for the two results, blame should also be placed on the summer reinforcements as several players have not produced results.
Celtic’s worst summer signings ranking
Celtic called up 10 players at short notice in the summer transfer window to strengthen Brendan Rodgers’ squad, and signed Kelechi Iheanacho the day after the transfer window closed.
Unfortunately, several of these new recruits have not stepped up to provide consistent quality on the pitch for the Hoops, or are not considered good enough to be given much of a chance to make an impression.
For example, WhoScored reports that Hayao Inamura and Jermai Simpson-Pucey have each made one appearance in the Scottish Premiership this season since joining Parkhead.
Ranking of Celtic’s worst 5 summer reinforcements | |
|---|---|
rank | player |
1 | Michelle-Ange Balikwisha |
2 | sebastian tunecuti |
3 | Hayato Inamura |
4 | Shin Yamada |
5 | Jermai Simpson Pusey |
As you can see from the table above, Sebastian Tunekti also ranks as one of the club’s worst summer signings, having scored just two goals in 19 games according to Sofascore since his £5.2 million move from Hammarby.
However, we rank Michel-Ange Balikwisha as the club’s worst signing. Because he currently looks like the worst business for Celtic since signing Vasilios Barkas.
Why Balikwisha was Celtic’s worst addition since Barkas
Celtic reportedly paid £4.5 million to sign Barkas from AEK Athens in 2020, but he made just 24 appearances over three years before being released on a free transfer in the summer of 2023.
According to Transfermarkt, the Greek international was unable to establish himself as number one in his first season, making just 15 league appearances despite being signed as the club’s most expensive goalkeeper in the club’s history.
The Hoops have now spent more than £5m on six players since Celtic paid £4.5m to sign Barkas in the summer of 2020. Since that summer, Tunekuti, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Adam Idah, Jota and Arne Engels have all been signed for more than £5m, according to Transfermarkt.
Carter-Vickers and Jota will be key players when they are fit. Trusty, Tunekuti and Engels started both games under Nancy, with Ider scoring 20 goals in all competitions last season before moving to Swansea.
However, Balikwisa was signed from Royal Antwerp for £5 million, slightly less than the six players mentioned above but more than Barkas, and was a huge failure at Parkhead.
Balikwisha in Celtic’s last 10 games | |
|---|---|
Opposition | minutes |
rome | 13 |
heart | 0 |
dandy | 0 |
hibernian | 0 |
feyenoord | 0 |
St Mirren | 0 |
kilmarnock | 0 |
Central Jutland | 15 |
rangers | 10 |
falkirk | 29 |
Statistics by Sofascore | |
As you can see from the table above, the Democratic Republic of the Congo international has been an unused substitute in six of the club’s last 10 games in all competitions.
According to Transfermarkt, Balikwisha has appeared in 13 games for the Scottish giants this season, coming off the bench seven times, which means he is not even able to get on the pitch regularly.
In the last 13 games, the Belgian-born flop has not scored a goal and provided one assist for his team, but this also shows that he hasn’t performed well enough to warrant more playing time at the top end of the pitch.
Back in September, pundit Hugh Kevins claimed that Balikwisha was “not contributing anything” and looked “intimidated” in a Celtic shirt. Unfortunately, three months later, the situation still appears to be there.
As for the £5 million, the Hoops should get more out of the former Pro League star on the pitch this season, given the aforementioned success of players signed for similar sums in recent years. Because he didn’t offer enough money.
Like Barkas, Balikwisa will eventually end up on the sidelines and see performances in place of other players, but based on current evidence it would not be surprising if he ends up like the Greek international, leaving the club for less than £5 million in the future.
Celtic star ‘bound’ to leave but could become new Tierney under manager Nancy
The Celtic star, who was due to leave the club in the summer, could emerge as Wilfried Nancy’s own Kieran Tierney.
That’s why he currently looks like the club’s worst contract since Barkas. That’s because he hasn’t contributed as much or established himself as a regular starter as other big-money acquisitions. But there is still time for him to change this opinion and build a career at Parkhead.
