Celtic ‘£5m offer’ for Balikwisha could now seal deal – sources
Celtic could seal a deal a £5million deal to sign Royal Antwerp forward Michel-Ange Balikwisha next summer, sources have told Football Insider.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke revealed that the Glasgow club’s scouts have been keeping a close eye on his progress and recovery so far this season.
This comes after the 23-year-old was close to making the move to Celtic in July before suffering an injury which saw the deal put on ice.
Balikwisha made his return from injury in the Juliper Pro League clash with Charleroi on 8 December, but was left out of the squad for the following trip to KV Mechelen.
As a result, Celtic will continue to track his development for the rest of the season before making a move.
The deal is not expected to be resurrected in January despite sources saying Brendan Rodgers is a big fan of his, as Royal Antwerp will only consider offers in the summer.
It has been said that Celtic’s progress in the Champions League will help them boost their transfer kitty ahead of the summer window and could set them up for further spending.
Celtic plan summer transfer swoop for Michel-Ange Balikwisha
Celtic are currently set to enter the Champions League playoff round ahead of the knockouts, where their progress will have a heavy impact on their future spending.
Progress through the playoffs into the round of 16 is worth a huge £9.1million, while every group stage win is worth £1.7million.
The club were limited in their summer spending after crashing out of the competition in the group stages, but there is now confidence that they can push further this time around.
Ahead of the upcoming transfer windows, Celtic have prioritised moves to strengthen their squad on the left wing and at the back, amid concerns about their strength in depth.
Balikwisha is capable of playing across the front three but predominantly plays on the left wing – an area Rodgers in keen to address given a lack of depth behind Daizen Maeda.
His current contract with Antwerp is set to expire in 2026, leading to the possibility of a cut-price deal in the summer, when he will have just one year remaining.
In other news, O’Rourke shares update on Jonjoe Kenny to Celtic.
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