Provided Celtic win this unexpected game in hand later down the line, the gap at the Premiership summit could be reduced to just three points, with the Scottish champions still very much in the mix to retain their crown.
Perhaps that speaks to the flaws of the two sides currently above them, but it remains remarkable that even after Brendan Rodgers‘ resignation and Wilfried Nancy’s 33-day disaster, the Hoops remain in a strong position both domestically and in Europe.
Much of that has been led by the brilliance of the great Martin O’Neill, with the enigmatic 73-year-old bringing a quiet calm back to Parkhead, getting a tune out of a group of players who looked all at sea under Nancy.
Now bolstered with five new January signings, all of whom have signed on loan, O’Neill has seen his side end the window stronger than they started it, not least in the centre-forward ranks.
That being said, the lack of proper financial investment in the squad will still grate on the Parkhead faithful, with Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise perhaps the missing piece Celtic were in need of.
How close Maswanhise came to joining Celtic
It was a window dominated, unsurprisingly, by centre-forward talk in Glasgow, with Rangers ending deadline day with the signing of Ryan Naderi from Germany’s third tier, while Celtic snapped up Junior Adamu to add to Tomas Cvancara’s prior addition.
In both of those loan deals, however, the Hoops are banking on the pair reviving the form they showcased in years gone by, with Cvancara scoring just twice in Turkey in the first half of the season, while Adamu hasn’t impressed since scoring ten league goals for Red Bull Salzburg in 2022/23.
For many, Maswanhise was the one they wanted, with the 23-year-old having been linked with a £5m move to Celtic Park, after leading the way this season as the Premiership’s top scorer with 13 goals.
Premiership proven, the ex-Leicester City man – who was also the subject of interest from Anderlecht – had looked destined to depart Fir Park, albeit with manager Jens Berthel Askou admitting that his side had dismissed deadline day interest in the Zimbabwean.
Whether that interest had come from Celtic remains to be seen, albeit with it potentially a chance missed, not least with that “extreme” interest in the young striker, as Askou described it, only set to increase if his form continues before the summer.
For that reported figure of £5m, it wouldn’t exactly have been breaking the bank, even if there were any doubts over Maswanhise’s relative inexperience at senior level, having only featured once at Leicester before moving to Scotland in 2024.
Alas, Celtic’s squad is now what it will be for the remainder of the campaign, with O’Neill needing to find some internal solutions.
Celtic could turn £5m flop into their own Maswanhise
Celtic have pinned their centre-forward hopes on Cvancara and Adamu, with Kelechi Iheanacho also in the mix, although what about potentially trying to get a tune out of a player the club has already invested heavily in?
Now, it must be said, the £5m capture of Michel-Ange Balikwisha hasn’t worked out to date, with there perhaps a sense that those two new arrivals, alongside that of Joel Mvuka, have ended his hopes of regular game time under O’Neill.
He’s already been written off, and in a sense that’s rightly so, having provided just two assists and failed to score following his summer arrival from Royal Antwerp.
When he has featured, there’s been little of the player who previously impressed in Belgium, the player whom Rodgers hailed as “technically gifted“.
For all that being said, a problem lies in the failure to settle on his best position, with Rodgers outlining that the left-wing should be his favoured role, albeit with O’Neill since stating that he’s “definitely not a wide-player“.
That confusion, coupled with his stint away on AFCON duty, has not helped matters, but if given a chance, could he be Celtic’s own lively, versatile forward, in the mould of Maswanhise?
Like the Motherwell man, part of Balikwisha’s appeal is his ability to feature all across the frontline or as a number ten, having racked up 47 goals and assists in 145 games in all competitions for his former club.
|
Balikwisha vs Maswanhise 24/25 stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (*per game) |
B |
M |
|
Games |
16 |
30 |
|
Goals |
4 |
6 |
|
Assists |
3 |
3 |
|
Big chances missed |
3 |
2 |
|
Big chances created |
7 |
1 |
|
Key passes* |
1.6 |
0.4 |
|
Successful dribbles* |
0.4 |
0.9 |
|
Goal conversion |
22% |
16% |
|
Mins per goal |
293 |
267 |
|
Pass accuracy* |
85% |
72% |
Like his Premiership counterpart, Balikwisha is also a slight, agile forward who boasts explosive speed if given the chance to stretch a defence, with the pair boasting a relatively similar record in their respective leagues last season.
There might be a sense that the new Celtic man is something of a lost cause, although in the case of Maswanhise, he scored just six times in all competitions last term, having largely featured in Leicester’s youth ranks prior to that.
It’s been a miserable six months for Balikwisha, but the DR Congo international was signed for a reason, having previously been likened to ex-Crystal Palace hero, Wilfried Zaha, during his time at Standard Liege.
Like the Ivorian, hopefully Balikwisha can still blossom into a star of African football – much like Maswanhise – with O’Neill potentially the man to be able to coax a string of displays out of him.
As already stated, it’s looking bleak for Celtic’s £5m man right now, yet having kept him around past the deadline, he might as well be given a final six months to impress.
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