Celtic have announced the signing of Michel-Ange Balikwisha from Royal Antwerp on a five-year deal.
The Belgian winger joins the Hoops just a couple of days after they missed out on the Champions League following a play-off shootout defeat to Kazakhstan outfit Kairat Almaty.
Being demoted to the Europa League has been widely blamed on Celtic’s failure to reinforce their attacking options, with Brendan Rodgers’ side unable to score in 210 minutes against Kairat.
Balikwisha completing his move, subject to international clearance, redresses the balance, with the 24-year-old helping Antwerp to their first Belgian league title since 1957 in 2023.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers told the club’s official website: “I am delighted to welcome Michel-Ange to Celtic and I believe he will be a great addition to our squad.
“He is a really talented, exciting player and with a good level of experience at a high level already, so he will be an important player for us moving forward.
“He loves to attack and can play both sides of the pitch so we are sure he will give the team some great options.
“Having spoken to Michel-Ange I know he is very excited about joining Celtic and he wants to be a big success with us, so we look forward to working with him.”
Celtic sold main goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi in January without replacing him and Nicolas Kuhn followed him out of the door last month to compound the loss of fellow winger Jota to a serious knee injury.
But the only experienced addition this year had been Japanese striker Shin Yamada, leading to criticism from fans, some of whom chanted ‘sack the board’ during the first leg against Kairat.
Balikwisha said: “For me, it’s the right move because it’s a big club, they play well and they dominate the league. I’m here to help the team, to get some trophies, to play in Europe and win everything.
“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.”
Balikwisha, who could make his debut in this weekend’s Old Firm derby against Rangers, added: “I need to be ready because it’s the most important game for the fans and for the club.
“If I play in the game, I will give my best to help the team win.”
