{"id":288339,"date":"2025-07-24T16:30:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T16:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/288339\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T16:30:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T16:30:14","slug":"celtic-have-three-surging-transfer-priorities-as-michel-ange-balikwisha-makes-intentions-clear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/288339\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtic have three surging transfer priorities as Michel Ange Balikwisha makes intentions clear"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brendan Rodgers wants quality signings in the door before next month&#8217;s Champions League play-off<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_Royal-Antwerp-FC-v-RWDM-Brussels-FC-Jupiler-Pro-League.jpg\" alt=\"Celtic target Michel-Ange Balikwisha\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Celtic target Michel-Ange Balikwisha(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Celtic are refusing to give up on their long-running pursuit of Michel Ange Balikwisha.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Hoops have identified the Royal Antwerp winger as one of their top targets this summer as <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/brendan-rodgers\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Brendan Rodgers<\/a> desperately seeks to add more firepower to his frontline.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Celts are down to the bare bones in terms of wide options following <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/sport\/football\/nicolas-kuhn-breaks-celtic-transfer-35609076\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Nicolas Kuhn&#8217;s \u00a317million exit to Como<\/a> and Jota sidelined until 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Balikwisha, 24, has been on the radar for a while and the Parkhead club were ready to move for him in January before he suffered his last injury.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The lightning-quick Belgian is out of contract next summer and <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/celtic-fc\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Celtic<\/a> hope to land him for a cut-price deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Cash-strapped Royal Antwerp are open to selling their star man rather than risk losing him for nothing at the end of this season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">But sporting director Marc Overmars is reluctant to budge on the \u00a35m price tag, with Celts keen to meet somewhere in between.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The player&#8217;s representative <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/michel-ange-balikwisha-celtic-transfer-35593446\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Jibril Rekkab claimed that there hasn&#8217;t been contact between both clubs<\/a> but <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Record Sport<\/strong> understands discussions have taken place.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_Screenshot-2025-07-22-at-192416.png\" alt=\"Jakob Breum in action \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Jakob Breum in action <\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">It&#8217;s believed Antwerp know that Balikwisha wants to move to Scotland but are playing hardball as they look to get the best fee they can as his contract runs down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Meanwhile, there were reports that Go Ahead Eagles had turned down Celtic&#8217;s \u00a31.5m bid for talented winger Jakob Breum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">However, Danish sources have dismissed that and claimed the Hoops&#8217; interest hasn\u2019t been renewed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">As well as a new winger, the Scottish champions are also in the market for a main striker, while another midfielder remains a top priority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Follow <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Record Sport <\/strong>on <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Record_Sport\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"TwitterLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DailyRecordSport\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"FacebookLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> and <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dailyrecord_sport\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"InstagramLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> for all of the up-to-the-minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">You can get all the news you need on our dedicated <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/rangers-fc\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"RangersLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Rangers<\/a> and <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/celtic-fc\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"CelticLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Celtic<\/a> pages, and sign up to our <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=63d718e7-01d7-475b-8771-1036275c62c8&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"newslettersLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">newsletters<\/a> to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We&#8217;re also on WhatsApp, where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Rangers community <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/EgVkLjEJzvoGCjPsITDsXg\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"hereLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> and our Celtic community <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/GtgsiFAaUcWKtoLw98WNeq\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"hereLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Tune in to <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/watch-record-sport-hotline-live-33585614\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"[object Object]Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Hotline Live <\/a>every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football, and listen to Record Sport&#8217;s newest podcast, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/GameOnListen\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"[object Object]Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Game On <\/a>, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bite-sized chunks.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brendan Rodgers wants quality signings in the door before next month&#8217;s Champions League play-offCeltic target Michel-Ange Balikwisha(Image: Getty&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[2352,2628,94,101092,1638,7081,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-288339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-brendan-rodgers","9":"tag-celtic-fc","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-michel-ange-balikwisha","12":"tag-scottish-premiership","13":"tag-scottish-professional-football-league","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114909166047971986","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}