Celtic flop is looking like a bigger waste of money than Nygren & Tounekti

Celtic were in freefall after Brendan Rodgers‘ shock resignation, staring into the abyss of a dismal domestic campaign, alongside further woes in Europe.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, with former treble winner Martin O’Neill parachuted in to steady the ship – six years on from the 73-year-old’s last managerial appointment.

What transpired was, excluding that night in Midtjylland, an almost perfect interim period for the beloved coach, with O’Neill leaving things in a far better place than he found them for new boss Wilfried Nancy.

Bequeathed a resurgent team by his short-term predecessor, Nancy – unfortunately – was contrastingly handed a hospital pass from the Parkhead hierarchy, with his belated arrival coming at the start of a pivotal week for the Glasgow giants.

Three miserable defeats have since followed across three competitions, with the Hoops’ season reaching a new nadir in Sunday’s woeful 3-1 defeat to St Mirren at Hampden Park.

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The Frenchman, and his much-debated tactical set-up, are firmly under the microscope already, although fingers must be pointed too at what now looks like an ever more disastrous summer of recruitment.

How Celtic’s summer window turned into a disaster

Comparisons with those at Ibrox are rarely popular, although it is remarkable how both Glasgow clubs have slipped into a similar scenario, with Rangers boss Danny Rohl left to pick up the pieces of the Light Blues’ own horror window under Kevin Thelwell and Russell Martin.

Nancy, too, has inherited a poorly-acquired squad himself, notably devoid of a senior, reliable centre-forward, with new men Kelechi Iheanacho and Callum Osmand both sidelined with injury.

Forgotten man, Shin Yamada, is also yet to score following his arrival from Japan, with compatriot Hayato Inamura another figure shackled to the periphery, having hardly had a look in under Rodgers or O’Neill.

Loan signing Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has featured just once amid an increasingly bizarre stint, while Kieran Tierney’s long-awaited homecoming has not gone as expected, with the Scotsman notably hooked at the break in last week’s debacle against Roma.

Much more has been seen of Sebastian Tounekti and Benjamin Nygren, although the attack-minded pair have flattered to deceive to date, with Tounekti registering just two goals and no assists despite initial promise.

Nygren boasts a respectable haul of 12 goals and assists, although the Swede hasn’t contributed in any of the last five Premiership games, while damningly failing to even make it off the bench in Sunday’s showpiece.

Perhaps Nancy has already seen enough from a man who has missed nine ‘big chances’ already in the league and Europa League, as per Sofascore, albeit with Celtic supporters having at least seen flashes of quality end product from the 24-year-old.

That isn’t true of everyone…

Celtic flop is a bigger waste of money than Tounekti & Nygren

Signed for roughly £7.2m combined, much more would have been expected of Tounekti and Nygren at this stage, with the Parkhead outfit no doubt praying for the return of the absent Jota to bolster the forward line.

When the Portuguese genius is back fit and firing, however, it will expose an even greater flaw from the summer of chaos, with Nancy now left with a string of attacking players all suited to the left flank.

Indeed, Jota, Tounekti and Daizen Maeda all appear at their best in that role, while even Yang Hyun-jun looked rejuvenated on that side under O’Neill, after netting in the win away at Feyenoord.

Quite what that all means for £5m man, Michel-Ange Balikwisha remains to be seen, with the DR Congo international already at the bottom of that pecking order, following his summer switch from Royal Antwerp.

Set to be absent over the next few weeks due to his AFCON involvement, the 24-year-old will drift even further into forgotten man territory, having made such minimal impact to date.

Chased for an extended period by the Hoops, the long-term target has since registered just two assists in 13 games for his new side, while failing to score in any of his fleeting appearances.

A starter just twice for the Premiership side, including in the derby draw back in late August, the versatile forward has been an unused substitute in each of the last five league games, as well as in the cup final loss.

Of course, it is hard to judge a player who has hardly been given a chance too harshly, although it doesn’t bode well that a succession of managers have now opted against throwing him into the mix.

Considering how long he was chased, and how much the Hoops dished out on him, Balikwisha has to go down as arguably the worst signing of the summer, if not Rodgers’ worst signing of his second spell.

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