Celtic’s £1.5m flop was an even bigger waste of time than Balikwisha’s

Callum McGregor’s superb winner for Celtic against St Mirren on Saturday night in the Scottish Premiership seems even more significant in hindsight.

Hearts then lost to Aberdeen in their match on Sunday, meaning the Hoops are just four points behind the Jam Tarts and have a game in hand against them.

Martin O’Neill has done a fantastic job as caretaker manager, winning all of his Premiership matches so far, but some of the players who struggled under Brendan Rodgers have also struggled under him, notably Michelangelo Balikwisha.

Why Balikwisha looks like a misjudged Celtic signing

The Hoops signed the Belgian striker from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth up to £5 million during the summer transfer window, but it was a strange deal as Sebastian Tounekti, who plays in the same position, was also signed from Hammarby.

Tounekti has since started all 12 of his appearances in the Premiership and Europa League, according to Sofascore, while 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 matches against Kilmarnock and St Mirren, suggesting he has failed to impress the Northern Irishman in training.

Balikwisha was therefore a poor signing for the Hoops as he failed to consistently earn a place in the team, and it was a strange move from the club considering the deal they later made for Tounekti in the same area of ​​the pitch.

The 24-year-old’s flop is not the worst attacking signing made by the Scottish giants this summer, however, as that prize could go to centre-forward Shin Yamada.

Why Shin Yamada was a worse signing for Celtic than Michelangelo Balikwisha

This was a curious signing from Celtic during the summer transfer window as the Japanese striker scored just two goals in 21 J1 League matches during the 2025 campaign for his previous club, following a return of 19 goals in 38 matches in 2024, according to Sofascore.

This suggests the Hoops were signing a player in decline, given his poor goalscoring record this year, making it a slightly puzzling decision.

His time at Parkhead so far this season has done little to answer questions about why the club decided to sign him on a permanent deal, as he has rarely featured or made an impact when given the chance.

As you can see in the table above, Balikwisha has played more matches and more minutes in the league, providing one assist, than the former J1 League scorer.

Shin was also left out of the squad for the Europa League championship stage, as Johnny Kenny, Kelechi Iheanacho, Daizen Maeda and Callum Osmand were chosen ahead of him in his position, while Balikwisha made three appearances in that competition.

Brendan Rodgers said Shin was a “strong player who can score goals and create for others” upon his unveiling, but a return of two goals and an assist in 27 games for Kawasaki Frontale and Celtic combined, according to Sofascore, in 2025 does not back that up.

The 25-year-old striker is yet to score a goal or assist for the Hoops in six appearances during 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 things stand, Shin looks like an even worse signing for the Scottish giants than Balikwisha, who has at least provided one assist in the league and has been included in the European squad list.