O’Neill can transform £5m Celtic into Parkhead’s own Maswanhythe

A win for Celtic in this surprise fixture could reduce the gap in the Premiership clash to just three points, with the Scottish champions also in the lion’s share of the fight to retain the title.

Perhaps it speaks to the shortcomings of both teams currently on top, but it’s still remarkable that the Hoops maintain a strong position both domestically and in Europe, even after the resignation of Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy’s 33-day disaster.

Much of it was guided by the brilliance of the great Martin O’Neill, the enigmatic 73-year-old who restored calm to Parkhead and coaxed melodies from the group of players staring out to sea under Nancy.

Now, bolstered by the addition of five new players in January, all on loan, O’Neill has seen his side finish the season stronger than they started, particularly in the centre-forward ranks.

Having said that, the lack of proper financial investment in the team will still haunt the Parkhead faithful, and Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise is perhaps the missing piece that Celtic needed.

How close Mashwanhise came to joining Celtic

Unsurprisingly, much of the talk of the day was about centre-forwards in Glasgow, with Rangers ending deadline day by signing Ryan Naderi from Germany’s third tier and Celtic signing Junior Adam as an addition to Tomas Kvankala.

However, with both of these loan deals, the Hoops will be hoping that the pair can revive their past form, with Kvankala scoring just two goals against Turkey in the first half of the season, and Adam not making an outstanding performance since scoring 10 league goals for Red Bull Salzburg in 2022-23.

For many, Maswanhise was the player they wanted, with the 23-year-old linked with a £5 million move to Celtic Park after being the Premiership’s top scorer this season with 13 goals.

The former Leicester City man appeared destined to leave Fir Park, with Premiership confirmation and interest from Anderlecht, although manager Jens Berthel Askou admitted on deadline day that he had dismissed interest in the Zimbabwean.

It remains to be seen whether that interest comes from Celtic, who could miss out on an opportunity, but their “extreme” interest in the young striker, especially as Askou said, will only increase if his form continues into the summer.

The reported £5 million figure is not necessarily a huge sum, even if there were doubts about Maswanhise’s relative lack of experience at the top level, having only made one appearance for Leicester before moving to Scotland in 2024.

Sadly, Celtic’s side will be like this for the rest of the campaign and O’Neill will need to find a solution internally.

Celtic could turn £5m flop into their own Maswanhythe

Celtic have pinned their centre-forward hopes on Kvankala and Adam, with Kelechi Iheanacho also on the cards, but what about the possibility of the club trying to extract form from a player they have already invested heavily in?

Now, it has to be said, the £5m signing of Michel-Ange Balikwisha hasn’t worked out so far and there’s probably a sense that these two new signings, as well as Joel Mvuka, have ended their hopes of regular appearances under O’Neill.

He has already been let go, but in a way it’s no surprise that he only registered two assists and failed to score after joining from Royal Antwerp in the summer.

The player, hailed by Rodgers as “technically gifted” and who previously impressed in Belgium, has rarely featured.

That said, the problem lies in his inability to settle into his best position, with Rodgers outlining that left wing should be his preferred role, while O’Neill says he is “definitely not a wide player”.

His absence on AFCON duty didn’t help matters, but if given the chance could he become Celtic’s own lively, versatile forward in the mold of Maswanhise?

Like the Motherwell man, part of Balikwisha’s appeal lies in his ability to play across the front line or as a number 10, scoring 47 goals and assisting in 145 games across all competitions for his former club.

Like his Premiership counterpart, Balikwisha is a small, agile forward with explosive speed when given the opportunity to stretch the defence. Last season, the two had relatively similar results in their respective leagues.

In Maswanhise’s case, there may be a sense that Celtic’s new signing is something of a lost cause, having previously played mainly in Leicester’s youth team and scoring just six goals in all competitions last season.

It’s been a miserable six months for Balikwisha, but there’s a reason why the Democratic Republic of Congo international was signed, having previously been likened to former Crystal Palace hero Wilfried Zaha during his time at Standard Liege.

Like the Ivorian, hopefully Balikwisha can develop into a star in African football like Maswanhuis, but O’Neill is the man who could potentially extract a string of performances from him.

As already mentioned, things are tough for Celtic’s £5 million man at the moment, but having kept him past the deadline, it might be better to give him the final six months to make an impression.