Balikwisha points finger at Celtic

Details are thin on the ground here. BBC Sport's gossip column flags the claim without laying out exactly what Balikwisha thinks Celtic did wrong, whether it's a fitness management issue, a release dispute, or something else entirely tied to his time in Glasgow. What's clear is that the player feels his club, not his own form, cost him a place in DR Congo's squad.

That's the kind of line that tends to get noticed inside a dressing room. Clubs and international federations clash over player availability all the time, but it's rarer for a player to go public and put the blame squarely on his employer rather than keep it behind closed doors. If Balikwisha genuinely feels Celtic mishandled his situation, it's worth watching whether this stays a one-off gossip-column mention or turns into something Celtic have to address directly.

A separate story, same column

Bundled into the same gossip roundup: Thelo Aasgaard, who swapped Rangers for Anderlecht, has reportedly said he's happy with how the move has gone. There's no indication the two items are connected beyond both touching on Scottish football's wider orbit, Aasgaard heading out of Ibrox, Balikwisha unhappy at Celtic Park. It's a reminder that gossip columns often stitch together loosely related lines rather than one developing saga.

Aasgaard's satisfaction with life at Anderlecht is a tidy footnote next to the Balikwisha story, a player who left Rangers and, by his own account, has no regrets about it. Whether that stays a quiet success story or becomes relevant again if Rangers' form dips is a different conversation.

Worth watching

For now, the Balikwisha line is the one with legs. Public criticism of a club over an international snub rarely disappears quietly, especially when the player in question is still on the books. Celtic haven't been quoted in response, and until they are, or until Balikwisha elaborates, this sits exactly where BBC Sport filed it: as gossip, not confirmed fact.