Birmingham City ace will be 'wishing' he was a Celtic player right now as pundit casts fear over Hoops signing
A star who left Celtic earlier this year is now at Birmingham City.
A Celtic hero reckons there’s a former player at Birmingham City wishing he was in Hoops - as one of their summer signings leaves him raising his eyebrows.
An overall poor transfer window has fans fuming with the club’s board, and leaves many wondering if Brendan Rodgers has enough firepower to launch a successful season. One player Celtic have not replaced from the winter window is striker Kyogo Furuhashi, who left for Rennes in France, but that spell ended calamitously and English Championship side Birmingham City signed him over this summer.
In terms of attacking options, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Shin Yamada and Kelechi Iheanacho are amongst those to arrive at Parkhead. Celtic hero Charlie Mulgrew has been reviewing the situation, with a Champions League play-off exit to Kairat Almaty on penalties after a two-legged 0-0 draw firmly in mind. The following game was a stalemate with Rangers and while Mulgrew knows the size of Birmingham City, it doesn't compare to Celtic, and he reckons Kyogo is aware of that.
Why Birmingham City star will want to be at Celtic
Mulgrew told Go Radio: “You definitely would’ve fancied him going through on goal against Kairat. As much as Maeda’s going through and you’re hopeful, you’re thinking… ‘I don’t know if he’ll score that.’ He’ll be playing for Birmingham right now, wishing he was still at Celtic. It’s just a much better place to be, and play. That’s the reality.
“He’s in Birmingham, and although Birmingham are a big club, I just think that playing for Celtic, potentially in the Champions League and winning trophies… it’s a hard one.”
Mulgrew also noted the club’s Belgian import and how he fared on his Old Firm debut at Ibrox, with some surprise cast, and dashes of concern over his speed. He added: “It’s a hard game to judge him on, at Ibrox straight away. What surprised me a wee bit about him though, was that I thought he would be quicker.
What Michel-Ange Balikwisha said about Celtic move
“I don’t know if it’s just me, but he didn’t look too quick to me. He looked like more of a technical type of player, maybe an inside sort of ten. He had a chance to take on Tavernier a couple of times, and it seems to have went out of the game. Where is it that wingers go at their full-back?”
Speaking on his move to Celtic, Balikwisha said to Celtic TV: “For me, it’s the right move because it’s a big club, they play well and they dominate the league. I’m a player who likes to press and to give everything so I think it’s the right choice to come here to continue like I did at my former club.
“I’m here to help the team, to get some trophies, to play in Europe and win everything, so that’s why I’m here. I’m a guy who likes to run deep, to have the ball at my feet, to come inside and to score, so that’s why I hope the fans will be happy to see me here and I will give everything for the club.”