Callum McGregor’s stunning winner for Celtic against St Mirren on Saturday night in the Scottish Premiership looks even more important with the benefit of hindsight.
Hearts went on to lose to Aberdeen on Sunday in their match, which means that the Hoops are only four points adrift of the Jam Tarts and have a game in hand over them.
Martin O’Neill has done a terrific job in interim charge, winning all of his Premiership matches so far, but some of the players who struggled under Brendan Rodgers have also struggled under him, including Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
Why Balikwisha looks like a misjudged signing by Celtic
The Hoops signed the Belgian forward from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth up to £5m during the summer transfer window, but it was an odd piece of business because Sebastian Tounekti, who plays in the same position, was also brought in from Hammarby.
Tounekti has since started all 12 of his appearances in the Premiership and the Europa League, per Sofascore, whilst Balikwisha has started twice in the Premiership and is yet to start in Europe.
In fact, the former Antwerp star has been an unused substitute for O’Neill in the last two league games against Kilmarnock and St Mirren, which suggests that he has failed to impress the Northern Irishman in training.
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Balikwisha has, therefore, been a bad signing for the Hoops because he has failed to earn a place in the team on a regular basis, and it was an odd move by the club given the deal they then clinched for Tounekti in the same area of the pitch.
The 24-year-old flop was not the worst attacking signing made by the Scottish giants in the summer, though, as that award may go to centre-forward Shin Yamada.
Why Shin Yamada was a worse signing for Celtic than Michel-Ange Balikwisha
He was a curious signing by Celtic in the summer transfer window because the Japanese forward only scored two goals in 21 J1 League matches in the 2025 campaign for his previous club, after a return of 19 goals in 38 matches in 2024, per Sofascore.
This suggests that the Hoops were signing a player who was on the decline, given his poor goalscoring record this year, and that made it a slightly puzzling move.
His time at Parkhead so far this season has done little to answer any questions around why the club decided to sign him on a permanent deal, as he has rarely featured or made an impact when given the opportunity.
Appearances
4
7
Minutes played
137
236
Goals
0
0
Big chances missed
2
0
Big chances created
0
1
Assists
0
1
As you can see in the table above, Balikwisha has played more matches and more minutes in the league, delivering one assist, than the former J1 League marksman.
Shin was also left out of the squad for the league phase of the Europa League, as Johnny Kenny, Kelechi Iheanacho, Daizen Maeda, and Callum Osmand were picked ahead of him in his position, whilst Balikwisha has made three appearances in that competition.
Brendan Rodgers said that Shin was a “strong player who can score goals and create for others” in his unveiling, but a return of two goals and one assist in 27 games for Kawasaki Frontale and Celtic combined, per Sofascore, in 2025 does not back that up.
The 25-year-old striker is yet to deliver a goal or an assist for the Hoops in six appearances in his first three months at the club, and appears to be well down the pecking order after being left as an unused substitute against St Mirren last time out.
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Therefore, as it stands, Shin is looking like an even worse signing for the Scottish giants than Balikwisha, who has at least provided an assist in the league and been included in the European squad list.