Michel-Ange Balikwisha’s miserable Celtic spell has been put on hold, and potentially brought to an end altogether, after the winger completed a season-long loan move to Gent. Confirmed by the Belgian club on Saturday morning
The Belgian side have taken Balikwisha for the rest of the campaign, Celts Are Here understands the agreement includes an option to make the transfer permanent for around £3.5 million.
It is an exit that has looked increasingly inevitable.
Celtic spent around £5 million to bring Balikwisha to Glasgow, but the move simply has not worked. He managed only 273 minutes of first-team football, starting just twice, and never came close to establishing himself as a regular.
Perhaps most tellingly, opportunities remained scarce despite changes in the Celtic dugout. Balikwisha struggled to convince Brendan Rodgers, Wilfried Nancy or Martin O’Neill that he deserved an extended run in the side.
For a player brought in for a substantial fee and expected to strengthen Celtic’s attacking options, that return has been hugely disappointing.
It became increasingly difficult to see where Balikwisha fitted into O’Neill’s plans. And he only sat on the bench to make up the numbers in Celtic’s ill-fated Champions league qualifier against LASK.
A return to Belgium now gives him an opportunity to reset.
Balikwisha knows the Belgian game well and Gent provides a more familiar environment in which to try to rediscover the form that persuaded Celtic to spend heavily on him in the first place.
If Gent decide to activate the buyout clause, the Hoops will take a loss on their initial investment, but it would draw a line under a transfer that has provided little value on the pitch. The loan also clears Balikwisha from the squad for the season and removes another wage from the books.
Celtic have already been busy moving fringe players on this summer, with players like Paulo Bernardo also heading out on loan earlier this month.
Balikwisha can now concentrate on getting his career moving again in Belgium. It’s very unlikely he ever pulls on a Celtic jersey again. We wish him all the best.
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