Celtic’s proposed move for Michel-Ange Balikwisha may have moved a step closer with the news Spanish Under 21 international Raul Moro has agreed terms with Ajax, as reported by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
‘Ajax have agreed deal to sign Raúl Moro for package worth over €12m with add-ons included.’
🚨🔴⚪️ Ajax have agreed deal to sign Raúl Moro for package worth over €12m with add-ons included. pic.twitter.com/KPtJ0Gd6ME
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 24, 2025
Some mainstream media sites were yesterday accusing Celtic of dragging their heels over the possible signing of the Antwerp winger, but as we reported on The Celtic Star yesterday it is believed Celtic held an interest in another winger, who was likely to be the club’s main target, and we advised Ajax were Celtic’s competition to the prospective signing.
Raul Moro had been on duty with his Spanish Under 21 teammates until they were knocked out by England just last week.
Following that exit it looks certain that Moro will be heading to Ajax this summer, with a €12m package looking agreed between Real Valladolid, who were relegated from La Liga this season, and Ajax who will be looking to deepen their squad after a season in the Netherlands where they lost a healthy lead in the title race, eventually succumbing to rivals PSV by just a point on the final day.
That title collapse led to manager Francesco Farioli, someone Celtic were said to have been keen on prior to Brendan Rodgers returning for a second spell in charge of the Hoops, surprisingly resigning after just a year in charge of the Eredivisie club.
Meanwhile PSV are another side worth paying attention to in the coming days as they are the club mooted to be in pole position to sign another reported transfer target for Celtic, Sondre Ørjasæter from Sarpsborg.
Celtic were interested in the wide man in January, and it has been suggested may also have an interest in the player again this summer. However, Sarpsborg’s valuation of the player appears to have increased from €7m euros to an overall package €11m euros, and it appears PSV are in the box-seat to complete a deal for a player who’s value may be too much for Celtic, although there may well be time for that to change.
What is most likely now however is Celtic may be able to conclude a deal for Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who certainly appears keen on joining Celtic and who’s value – around £5m – is likely a more palatable fee to the club.
Balikwisha is certainly a good young talent, and it seems evident he is keen to join Celtic. We’ll have a look at Balikwisha later today on The Celtic Star, as he is a player with many pros but also a con or two.
It will be interesting to see if this deal can be concluded, now other reported Celtic targets seem have chosen their respective destinations, or if Celtic, as was James Forrest suggested over on The Celtic Blog, that Celtic may also be waiting on the sale of Nicolas Kuhn before countenancing spending money on a replacement .
Niall J
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Of the three players mentioned in this article, Balikwisha is by far the poorest choice. Typical Celtic! Orjastaeter is the real quality we should be going for if we are to believe all the talk about adding real quality to the squad. I sincerely hope they don’t buy Balikwisha, he’s poor.
yeah i agree with you. orjasaeter is the player i wanted us to sign as well. i’ve never been convinced of this balakwisha guy. really disappointing because these are 2 players we could have signed in january. these are the clubs we should be competing with in the transfer market.
Moro never looked like being in our grasp, but we should have been able to make a move for Orjasaeter. I’m hoping this was as much down to the player’s choice of where to play as it was our dithering. It doesnt speak well of our ambition at all if we simply didn’t want to invest.
Balikwisha looks like a decent back up at best for now and I just don’t understand the determination to sign him. He doesn’t have a strong track record, and has injury history. I hope I’m wrong!