Michel-Ange Balikwisha has no future at Celtic after Martin O'Neill deal agreed
Michel-Ange Balikwisha must leave Celtic this summer as Martin O'Neill closes in on being appointed as their new permanent boss.
Balikwisha spent most of 2025-26 out of favour at Celtic after joining for around £5million from Royal Antwerp last summer.
He signed a five-year deal at Parkhead under Brendan Rodgers, but became one of the biggest victims of their turbulent campaign as O'Neill arrived to save the day on two separate occasions.
The 74-year-old did not take to Balikwisha and handed him barely any game time during his two interim spells at Parkhead.
Now that O'Neill has agreed deal to be Celtic's next permanent manager, the DR Congo winger is surely due to go out on loan this summer.
Martin O'Neill does not rate Michel-Ange Balikwisha
Balikwisha was a regular under Rodgers until his shock exit in late October, with nine of his 14 appearances in 2025-26 coming while he was still in charge.
O'Neill's first arrival saw the 25-year-old rooted to the bench, and the 74-year-old explained why in November ahead of what was meant to be his final game in charge.
He said: "There’s one or two lads at this minute, like Balikwisha, who have not had a chance to play – I just said to him in the dressing room, ‘With the next manager coming in, he will see what you can do.’
"The next manager will step in. Play him. And find out that he could be the best. This is the point. I have made that point to him."
He went on to feature in just one of Wilfried Nancy's eight games at the helm, with three weeks spent at the African Cup of Nations with DR Congo.
Balikwisha returned from AFCON to find O'Neill in charge once more, and the Hoops legend did not hand him a single appearance in the second half of the season.
O'Neill clearly does not really rate the 25-year-old, and with reports of his return as permanent boss being widespread, Balikwisha's next move looks pretty obvious.
He will surely be loaned out to a team abroad, with a possible return to Belgium on the cards.
What else has O'Neill said about Balikwisha?
Sources have told Football Insider that Celtic are accelerating a move for Elijah Just, as they clearly want to overhaul O'Neill's attacking options this summer.
While an exit looks like a foregone conclusion for Balikwisha, he may take some solace in more recent quotes from O'Neill.
Speaking about his situation in March, the 74-year-old admitted that he felt for the winger and his lack of opportunities since moving to Glasgow.
He said: "I do feel for him a little bit, because my job is not to please everyone here at the football club. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think he’s had a proper chance.
"He certainly hasn’t had a proper chance under my time, because I thought there were other people that may be better equipped for this league at this minute. It might have been a different ball game if I’d had a pre-season, where I know what people can do in two or three weeks.”