Celtic sold “astonishing” gem under Rodgers, now he’s outscoring Balikwisha

Can Celtic start to build some momentum?

Last Sunday, the Hoops, just about, beat Kilarmnock 2-1 at Rugby Park, awarded a very controversial penalty deep into injury time by referee John Beaton, duly dispatched by debutant Kelechi Ịheanachọ.

Coming up on Wednesday, Brendan Rodgers’ side will commence their Europa League campaign, having been ignominiously dumped out of the Champions League in the play-offs by Kairat.

The Celts will take on Crvena zvezda in Belgrade this week, with games against Braga, Sturm Graz, Midtjylland, Feyenoord, Roma, Bologna and Utrecht to come thereafter.

How will they do? Who knows! Probably not great, but we’ll see.

Following the late-August trolley dash to bolster attacking options, would Celtic have been better off simply keeping hold an “astonishing” attacker now impressing overseas?

What will Michel-Ange Balikwisha bring to Celtic

Having chased him for over a year, Michel-Ange Balikwisha finally joined Celtic for a reported fee of £5m at the end of August.

The Belgian was thrown in for his debut during the drab Old Firm just a few days later, before also starting last weekend’s trip to Ayrshire, albeit he was replaced shortly before the hour mark by James Forrest.

Thus, it is very early days, but the 24-year-old is yet to showcase the full extent of his talent.

Balikwisha is clearly a player of great potential, but the biggest concern Celtic supporters had following his arrival is his injury history.

Last season, he made just 18 appearances for Royal Antwerp due to a torn thigh muscle, having also had knee problems in the past.

So, while the jury firmly remains out on Balikwisha, an ex-Celtic attacker is helping his current side make history in another continent.

Former Celtic winger thriving in America

Liel Abada joined Celtic from Maccabi Petah Tikva in the summer of 2021 for a reported fee of £3.6m, and he would go on to be an integral figure to Ange Postecoglou’s success in Glasgow.

The winger scored 15 goals during his debut season at Parkhead, thereby named PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, before adding a further 13 goals during the following campaign.

He memorably netted during 3-0 and 4-0 annihilations of Rangers in 2022, meaning his name will always be etched into club folklore.

However, after tensions between Israel and Palestine escalated in 2023, he reportedly no longer felt comfortable at the club, given the public displays of support for Palestine from sections of Celtic supporters.

Thus, in March 2024, following an elongated spell on the sidelines due to a thigh injury, Abada departed for MLS side Charlotte FC for around £10m, representing a decent profit.

Still only 23 years old, the winger has continued to impress in North Carolina, scoring 13 goals in 60 appearances for the club, part of an attacking unit that also contains Wilfried Zaha; bet you didn’t know he was there!

Last weekend’s 3-0 victory over Inter Miami was Charlotte’s ninth successive win in Major League Soccer, equaling the competition’s record, with Abada featuring in all but one of these wins.

The table below documents the Israeli international’s goal scoring record, when compared to that of current Celtic winger Balikwisha.

As the table documents, Abada has proven himself to be a far more reliable goal scorer over an extended period of time than Balikwisha, even if the Belgian has spent a large percentage of this period in the Antwerp treatment room.

At his best, Kieran Devlin of the Athletic described Abada as “astonishing”, noting that his “all-round game has improved dramatically” and he was, at the peak of his powers, simply “undroppable”.

According to Global Football Rankings, MLS is the 14th strongest league in the world, with the Scottish Premiership down in 27th.

Thus, still only 23 years old, he is proving his quality at a high level, and would unquestionably improve the current Celtic forward line.