It is fair to say that Luke McCowan did not make the most of his opportunity to impress for Celtic in their loss to their local rivals on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership.

The attacking midfielder was handed his first start of the season by Martin O'Neill in the game against Rangers at Parkhead, but the left-footed talent failed to grasp his chance.

McCowan only completed 54% of his attempted passes and lost two of his three ground duels and all three of his aerial duels before being withdrawn at half-time for Kasper Hogh to come on.

The 28-year-old midfielder has only scored two goals in 34 appearances in the Premiership since the start of last season and there may have to be a decision made on his future in January if he continues to struggle at the top end of the pitch.

Why Luke McCowan has not been a total write-off at Celtic

McCowan currently looks like he is not up to the level required at Parkhead, due to his lack of output over the past 13 months or so, which is why some supporters may view him as a flop at the moment.

However, the Scottish midfielder has not always lacked quality in the final third and was a useful player for Brenden Rodgers as an attacking talent during the 2024/25 campaign.

Celtic only paid a fee of around £1m to sign the experienced ace from Premiership rivals Dundee in the summer of 2024, and he ended his first season at Parkhead with a return of seven goals and nine assists in 41 appearances in all competitions.

The Hoops number 14 proved himself to be an impactful substitute for the Scottish giants that season, as he produced 16 goal contributions in 16 starts for Dundee and Celtic combined.

McCowan's career at Parkhead may not have progressed in the way that anyone wanted, as he is currently struggling, but he should not be considered a total write-off because of the money paid to sign him and his contributions in the 2024/25 campaign.

Celtic signing has been a bigger disaster than McCowan

The Premiership champions have made far bigger mistakes in the transfer market than when they paid £1m for McCowan, including one of their worst ever signings last summer.

In the summer of 2025, Rodgers wanted to bolster his attacking options in the wide areas and swooped to sign Michel-Ange Balikwisha from Royal Antwerp for a fee in the region of £5m.

The DR Congo international was reportedly given a £15k-per-week contract at Parkhead, which means that he earned roughly £800k before his loan move to Gent at the end of August this year.

Unfortunately, the left-sided attacker did not have the desired impact at Paradise and was not fancied by Rodgers, Wilfried Nancy, or Martin O'Neill throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

Balikwisha ended his first season at Parkhead with no goals and two assists in 14 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops, playing a total of just 398 minutes on the pitch.

Despite being available for the majority of the campaign, aside from going to the Africa Cup of Nations, the forward only made seven appearances in the Premiership.

The 25-year-old attacker was an unused substitute ten times and was not selected for the matchday squad 29 times in all competitions by the three managers combined, which shows that he did not do enough to impress any of them.

It is some going to fail to impress three managers in the same season, resulting in a complete lack of minutes on the pitch, particularly after being signed for £5m last year.

The Hoops were rinsed dry by the DR Congo international because they paid £5.8m in transfer fees and wages for the 2025/26 campaign, and he was not selected for more matches than he played and failed to score a single goal for the club.

His failure to make the grade at Celtic last season led to the club sanctioning a loan move to Gent last month, and the Belgian side have the option to sign him permanently next summer.

That move means that Balikwisha could leave Celtic permanently next year after failing to score in 14 appearances in all competitions, after costing the club £5.8m.

With that in mind, it is fair to say that McCowan does not look like a flop by comparison to the Gent loanee, as he has provided more value over the course of his career in Glasgow.