Several Celtic players once again failed to make the matchday squad for the club’s Scottish Premiership victory over Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday afternoon.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Joel Mvuka and Junior Adamu, all brought in as part of this season’s recruitment drive, were left out of both the starting XI and the bench for Martin O’Neill. Meanwhile, Tomas Cvancara and Julian Araujo were absent through injury.
Adamu has not featured in a league squad since March, Mvuka has not been included in a single Premiership matchday group since arriving on loan from Lorient in January, and Balikwisha has not appeared in a top flight fixture since December.
It’s been a recruitment window that has missed the mark too often in the attacking department across both the summer and January business, leaving a number of those signings stuck on the fringes awaiting the next opportunity to reset.
Even with those wasted resources in forward areas, Celtic still managed to get the job done, claiming a 2-1 win over Hibernian to move level with Hearts on 73 points at the top of the table, at least for now.
How Martin O’Neill won Celtic the game against Hibernian:
Celtic went into half-time locked at 1-1, despite playing against ten men, after Joe Newell’s equaliser stood in controversial fashion with the ball appearing to strike his arm before he finished.
The Hoops struggled to establish a breakthrough in the opening 25 minutes of the second half, a frustrating spell for the visitors, before O’Neill turned to his bench and ultimately changed the game.
Kelechi Iheanacho replaced Hyun-jun Yang, allowing Daizen Maeda to shift out wide, and the Nigerian’s sharp instincts inside the box saw him score the winner just two minutes after entering the field.
Using the Nigeria international from the bench proved a decisive move from the manager, with three of his four Premiership goals for the club now coming as a substitute, compared to just one in four starts.
He thrives when introduced against tiring backlines, picking up on loose moments and exploiting gaps, and it worked once again to secure all three points against Hibs.
While Iheanacho has carved out a role as an impact option at Parkhead, one of Celtic’s starters against Hibernian is beginning to drift into worrying territory, echoing the situation of Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
Celtic attacker is becoming the next Michel-Ange Balikwisha:
The DR Congo international has not played a single minute of Premiership football since October, after beginning his Celtic league career with no goals and one assist in seven appearances.
Hyun-jun Yang has rebuilt his place in the side to start 25 of his 28 Premiership appearances, after only nine starts in the 2024/25 campaign, but his recent output has been patchy at best.
Chris Sutton labelled his final product as “frustrating” during Sky Sports’ coverage of the win over Hibernian, and it is difficult to disagree given he was replaced by Iheanacho, who went on to score the winner.
Yang lost possession 19 times in 70 minutes and left the pitch without a single shot on target or a completed cross to his name.
The £2m signing from Gangwon in 2023 has now registered three goals, including two against Motherwell in March, along with one assist in his last 19 appearances across all competitions for club and country.
He is also still waiting for his first assist in the Premiership this season after 28 appearances. Liam Scales (three), Colby Donovan (two), Cvancara (one), Johnny Kenny (two) and even Balikwisha (one) have all contributed more league assists than the winger.
His inconsistency and lack of creativity have also carried into European competition, where he managed one goal in seven Europa League appearances without a single assist.
Now, Yang risks following the same path as Balikwisha next season unless his consistency and creative output improve, particularly if Celtic strengthen further in attacking areas during the transfer window.
The hope at Parkhead will be that the South Korea international can avoid that slide and establish himself as a dependable attacking option moving forward into next season and beyond.