Celtic in possible transfer battle with Ligue 1 side as club abroad expect Hoops to reignite interest in star

Royal Antwerp CEO Sven Jaecques has said Celtic are ‘still’ interested in winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha along with Rennes, as per Gazet van Antwerpen (via Sport Witness).

They have the chance to make a move for him in the January transfer window. Balikwisha, 23, is under contract with his current club until the summer of 2026. That means they are under no pressure to cash in on him anytime soon and can wait for the right offer to come in for his signature.

Celtic could see him as someone to bolster their attacking department for the second-half of the season. They have made a decent start to the 2024/25 campaign as they chase down another title. Jaecques has shared this update regarding Balikwisha’s situation: “Well, Balikwisha was down with an injury, so we knew it was going to be difficult. Two clubs [Celtic and Rennes] kept negotiating to possibly still bring him in, but in the meantime, we know that such clubs will rather focus on January anyway. He must now return as soon and fit as possible and then we will see what happens.”

The ex-Belgium youth international played for Anderlecht and Standard Liege as a youngster before joining Royal Antwerp. He has made 125 appearances for the Pro League outfit in all competitions to date and has scored 25 goals.

Former Partick Thistle and Dundee United man Frederic Frans, who now manages in Belgium for Sporting Hasselt, is a fan of the player and said earlier this year: “He’s the type of player who, on his day, can be amazing. But Celtic are buying someone (didn’t materialise in the end) with a lot of potential rather than the finished product.

“Antwerp bought him for quite a big fee. I remember that Club Brugge wanted him, but a few years ago Antwerp had big money, even though they were still the smaller club. The owner wanted to compete with Brugge, so they spent that money on Balikwisha to steal him away from Brugge as much as to add him to their team, and everyone knew that.

“To be honest though, he’s a good player, even though there was a bit of flexing of the financial muscle going on from the Antwerp owner. He has quite a long, skinny body when you look at him, but is really strong and fast. He has a lot of the qualities you need, with his speed, the dribbling, the technique, and physically he’s pretty decent as well.

“He’s quick, he’s technical, he’s a good player. I don’t think you necessarily have to be too physical to play in Scotland, because you look at players like Kyogo Furuhashi playing for Celtic, and he does really well. He is fast, and he is really strong in every aspect of his game, and he should really suit a fast-paced game like it is over in Scotland.

“I think he will do well. I wouldn’t say he was one of the top, top players in Belgium, but he is a very decent player in Belgium. I think he could play in any league really. He’s a young boy, and he’s got everything you need to go on and be even better.”