Celtic have been pursuing Michel-Ange Balikwisha for some time now.
Balikwisha has teased a move to Parkhead in the past and is now in the last year of his contract at Royal Antwerp, meaning he could be available on the cheap.
Now that Nicolas Kuhn has joined Como and Hyunjun Yang has been linked with Norwich City, the need to bring extra players out wide has increased and Brendan Rodgers will hope to have these faces through the door before the season opener on 3 August.
Even though Balikwisha missed training as talks between the two clubs continue, Antwerp sporting director Marc Overmars has made it very clear to the Bhoys and what they will need to do to sign the star.
Photo by Tomas Sisk / Photo News via Getty ImagesMarc Overmars wants ‘serious bids’ for Michel-Ange Balikwisha
The Belgian side have many players available for transfer and Overmars has stated that anyone in the last year of their contracts would be sold for the right price.
However, Antwerp aren’t willing to entertain any lowball offers and while Celtic weren’t officially named, the former Arsenal player has warned the Hoops to not test his patience.
Photo by ANP via Getty Images
He told GVA: “Things like that (outgoing transfers) can happen in a day. I don’t want to beat around the bush: many clubs are ready to make a move.
“There were some bids but they were not serious enough. We’ll see if anything attractive comes along in the near future.”
Michel Ange-Balikwisha is the perfect player for the Celtic model
Over the years the Bhoys have been excellent in buying cheap and selling for huge sums.
Odsonne Edouard, Matt O’Riley and Kuhn are just three of the players that have come and gone for big money.
Balikwisha is only 24 and still has plenty of room to grow. If he were to be a hit in Glasgow, he could be the next to follow suit.