O’Neill signed his own Bakayoko at Celtic but he hasn’t played a minute

Eyebrows were raised when it was claimed earlier this week that Celtic were looking at a potential deal to bring in Tiemoue Bakayoko on a free transfer.

The Hoops had also been interested in signing the former France international earlier this year before they opted to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain instead.

He spent the international break training with the Scottish Premiership giants, having been without a club since the summer of 2025 after leaving Greek side PAOK.

However, it has since been revealed that he was only using the facilities to keep fit and that Martin O’Neill‘s side are not going to offer him a contract to join the club.

Why Celtic are right to avoid a deal for Bakayoko

Celtic are preparing to face Motherwell at Fir Park in the Premiership on Sunday, and Bakayoko is not a player who will be part of the manager’s plans for the game, or for any other game moving forward.

O’Neill has made the right decision on the former Chelsea central midfielder because he would have joined the Scottish giants with no recent experience of playing competitive football.

Bakayoko has not played a minute of competitive action since he played 45 minutes against Olympiacos in the Greek Super League in November 2024, just shy of two years ago.

The 32-year-old midfielder has only played 50 matches in all competitions at club level since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, averaging between 12 and 13 matches per season across the last four full terms.

Celtic made the right call by avoiding a deal to sign the Frenchman, therefore, because there is no telling how he would fare with regular minutes after such a long break from the game, and they could have wasted thousands in wages.

Celtic already have their own Tiemoue Bakayoko

In his pomp, at Monaco, Bakayoko was a powerful midfielder who offered defending and strength out of possession and the ability to chip in with goals and assists on the ball.

Thankfully, for Celtic and O’Neill, there is already a player at Parkhead who has the potential to offer similar attributes in the middle of the park this season.

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, the Scottish giants moved to sign central midfielder Joel van den Berg from Dutch side PSV for a fee of around £3.4m.

The 19-year-old talent has yet to be given a chance to show what he can do on the pitch, though, as he has only been an unused substitute for two league matches so far.

He was spotted in a protective boot ahead of the 1-0 loss to Rangers at Parkhead before the international break, but there has yet to be an official line on his injury.

When he is back fit, if he is not already back in training, van den Berg should be given an opportunity to impress because he could end up being the club’s own version of Bakayoko.

The teenage talent’s form for PSV’s reserves in the second tier of Dutch football in the 2025/26 campaign suggests that he has the potential to offer quality both in and out of possession.

He is a box-to-box midfielder, like Bakayoko, who can contribute with tackles and interceptions to break up opposition attacks, whilst also having the quality on the ball to make an impact in the final third.

Prior to joining the Hoops this summer, van den Berg also started the current Eerste Divisie campaign with two goals scored, seven chances created, and 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game on average across three games.

Instead of signing Bakayoko or another free agent central midfielder, O’Neill should provide the Dutchman with minutes on the pitch to showcase his quality.

REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

He has not played a single minute of football for Celtic, yet, but the club paid £3.4m to sign him for a reason and his form in the Netherlands suggests that he could develop into O’Neill’s own version of Bakayoko if he can carry his form over to Scottish football.