Celtic, like every club across the globe, have endured their fair share of disappointing acquisitions over the years in attempts to strengthen the first-team squad.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha is one example. The wide man arrived from Royal Antwerp for £5m last summer to enhance Brendan Rodgers’ options out wide.
However, Sebastian Tounekti, who operates in the same role, joined during the same window and has consistently been preferred to him throughout the season.
Balikwisha was absent from the squad for the 2-1 SFA Cup victory over Dundee on Saturday and has not appeared in a Scottish Premiership matchday squad since 7th December against Hearts.
In fact, his most recent Premiership outing for the Hoops came in the 4-0 triumph over Falkirk under Martin O’Neill in October, when he was introduced from the bench in that routine win.
The attacker does, however, have two assists in 398 minutes of action for Celtic so far, and he may feel limited opportunities have contributed to his struggles.
The £5m flop who may be Celtic’s worst ever signing:
While Balikwisha still has time to turn his fortunes around, there is another £5m Celtic recruit who could be remembered as one of the club’s poorest signings, perhaps even the worst.
Albian Ajeti may not rank among the club’s most expensive purchases, but the Hoops shelled out £5m for a player they later offloaded for just £500k.
The Switzerland international managed nine goals in 48 appearances across all competitions during a three-year spell in Glasgow, before being sold to Gaziantep for £4.5m less than the £5m paid to West Ham United for him.
Ajeti was signed to provide consistent firepower as the main number nine for the Scottish giants, yet he ended up averaging a goal every 5.3 games in all competitions.
It is difficult to overlook him as possibly the club’s worst-ever signing, considering the transfer fee, the modest goal return, and the minimal amount recouped after three years. Unfortunately, a Celtic player who featured against Dundee on Saturday is now beginning to look like the club’s poorest signing since Ajeti arrived at Parkhead.
The Celtic flop who looks like the worst signing since Ajeti:
As mentioned, Balikwisha has endured a tough start. The club invested heavily in him and he is barely seeing minutes, but he has at least chipped in with two assists and may simply require more game time to display his ability.
However, Joel Mvuka, harsh as it may sound, already appears to be an even poorer addition than the Belgian and potentially the club’s worst signing since Ajeti.
Celtic brought in the Norwegian forward on loan from Lorient on deadline day to strengthen their wide options, and the move caught one journalist covering French football off guard.
Robin Bairner labelled it a “weird” deal because Mvuka is a “mediocre Ligue 1 player” and suggested it “smacks of the Celtic board feeling they’re better doing something rather than nothing”, which felt severe at the time.
The 23-year-old’s displays for Lorient in the French top tier during the first half of the 2025/26 campaign, however, appeared to support Bairner’s criticism. Mvuka offered very little in attacking areas during his Ligue 1 stint earlier this season, and his Celtic debut perhaps explained why.
The right-footed winger was handed a starting berth on the right flank by O’Neill in Saturday’s SFA Cup clash with Dundee, alongside Hyun-jun Yang and Tomas Cvancara.
Unfortunately, Mvuka delivered a disappointing first-half showing before being substituted at the interval, with the manager opting not to reintroduce him for the second half.
The Norwegian struggled to match the technical sharpness of his teammates in advanced areas. There were several heavy touches and attempted feints that failed to unsettle Dundee’s defence, resulting in an ineffective display.
Considering Mvuka has never scored more than three goals in a single season, it perhaps should not be shocking that he did not make an instant impact for the Hoops, but his overall contribution left much to be desired.
It may be extremely harsh to judge after just one appearance, but Mvuka is already shaping up as Celtic’s poorest piece of business since the £5m Ajeti deal, given his career record, Bairner’s assessment at the time of the transfer, and the underwhelming nature of his debut.
Balikwisha, at least, had netted 14 goals across his previous two seasons with Royal Antwerp to somewhat justify his arrival, whereas Mvuka has never surpassed three goals or six assists in a single league campaign.
Hopefully, the former Bodo/Glimt talent proves doubters wrong and becomes a success at Parkhead. For now, though, he made an unfortunate first impression in front of the Celtic support.