da winzada777： Celtic forward Michel-Ange Balikwisha made his first appearance in Martin O’Neill’s second spell in the dugout against Auchinleck Talbot on Sunday.

da aviator aposta： The DR Congo international returned from the African Cup of Nations to start in the number ten position against the semi-professional side, but failed to make much of an impact on the game, as Johnny Kenny and Sebastian Tounekti scored the goals in a 2-0 win.

Celtic agreed a deal of up to £5m to sign Balikwisha from Standard Liege in the summer transfer window, and he has failed to live up to his price tag so far.

The 24-year-old flop has racked up no goals and two assists in 13 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops this season, per Transfermarkt, and wasted his most recent opportunity to impress against lower league opposition.

Celtic make bid to sign new forward

Balikwisha may not get too many more chances to turn his career at Parkhead around, as the club are reportedly looking to sign a player who would be a big upgrade on him.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to SportsWorldGhana, Celtic have submitted an offer to sign Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi in the January transfer window.

Their accompanying report claims that the Hoops have made a ‘fresh’ bid to land the left-footed forward, who recently returned from a loan spell with Rizespor in Turkey.

It follows up on a report that came out over the weekend explaining that the Scottish giants were in talks with Palace to sign the winger on loan with an option or obligation to sign him permanently for £8m.

SportsWorldGhana backs up the weekend’s news that stated the Hoops wanted an option to buy, and the Eagles want it to be an obligation, which is the sticking point in negotiations, but it remains to be seen whether this ‘fresh’ bid will be enough to get a deal done.

Why Rak-Sakyi is a Balikwisha upgrade

As aforementioned, Balikwisha has struggled badly in a Celtic shirt this season, failing to score a single goal, and Rak-Sakyi could come in as a huge upgrade for O’Neill.

Since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, the DR Congo international has scored five goals and provided four assists in 34 appearances for Standard Liege and the Hoops combined, which shows that he has rarely made an impact at the top end of the pitch.

Celtic need players in the forward areas who can provide more quality, both in terms of goals and assists, which is why they should keep pushing to reach an agreement with Palace for Rak-Sakyi.

Since the start of last season, the English winger has scored 11 goals and provided three assists in 47 games for Sheffield United and Rizespor combined, per Sofascore, which suggests that he would offer a considerably greater threat in front of goal than Balikwisha.

Rak-Sakyi, whose combined pace and quality was dubbed “devastating” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, scored four goals in just 11 appearances in the Super Lig during the first half of this season before returning to Palace.

25/26

Rak-Sakyi (Super Lig)

Balikwisha (Premiership)

Appearances

11

7

Goals

4

0

Shots on target per game

0.8

0.1

Big chances created

2

1

Assists

1

1

Dribbles completed per game

1.4

0.0

Dribble success rate

44%

0%

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the left-footed star has been far more effective at the top end of the pitch than Balikwisha in the 2025/26 campaign, particularly as a goalscorer and a ball carrier.

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Rak-Sakyi, who can play on either flank or through the middle as a striker or number ten (Transfermarkt), has shown that he can dribble past opposition players on a regular basis, having also completed 1.4 dribbles per match in the Championship for Sheffield United.

The lack of ability shown with the ball at his feet by Balikwisha has been particularly frustrating this season, as he has not completed a single dribble in seven Scottish Premiership games, and that has contributed to his poor form as he has been unable to create chances for himself by taking players on.

Palace’s £8m-rated forward, however, has the quality on the ball to create openings for himself by drifting past players to make things happen in the final third, which is why he is such an exciting player.

Better signing than Kovacevic: Celtic could land Kenny upgrade for £6.5m

Celtic could make an even better signing than Franko Kovacevic by swooping for this reported target.

ByDan Emery

It is now down to the Scottish giants to work out a deal with Palace to bring the left-footed ace to Parkhead as a huge upgrade on Balikwisha before the end of the window.