Adam Virgo admitted there would have been no contest if Brighton fans had been asked to tip a former Seagull to fly highest in Glasgow after becoming Old Firm rivals last summer.
And the former Celtic defender insists they will have been left stunned at the fact it’s Super Eagle Leon Balogun who has helped clip the wings of Shane Duffy to become a Scottish Premiership champion.
It was Duffy who ensured Balogun’s opportunities at the Amex Stadium were limited as the Republic of Ireland international formed a solid central defensive pairing with Lewis Dunk.
Chris Hughton signed Nigerian international Balogun as back-up to his first choice duo for their second season in the Premier League but he made just eight top flight appearances.
The free signing from Mainz made his debut off the bench as a replacement for Dunk in a win over Manchester United in which he scored and then netted his first goal in a victory over Crystal Palace, just 25 seconds after coming on following a Duffy red card for a headbutt.
With chances few and far between, Balogun moved to Wigan Athletic in a disastrous administration-hit season which saw the Latics relegated to League One due to a points deduction.
The 32-year-old could never have predicted that just eight months later he would be a champion with Rangers and play a big enough part in that historic title win to trigger another 12 months on his Ibrox deal.
Balogun was an emergency signing for Steven Gerrard after Niko Katic suffered an agonising pre-season knee injury and his low key arrival was in contrast to the fanfare of Duffy’s arrival across the city with Celtic shelling out a big loan fee and a chunk of his hefty wages.
Yet Duffy has been a major flop while Balogun has excelled and 38-year-old Virgo, who joined Celtic for £1.5 million after the first of his two spells at Brighton, said: “If you asked any Brighton fan in the summer who would be the most successful in Scotland between Leon Balogun and Shane Duffy then, 100 per cent, they would have said the latter.
“People would probably have thought Shane could have gone to another Premier League side at that time but as an Irishman the move to Celtic was one he craved.
“Celtic spent a lot of money despite it only being a loan deal but it’s been an absolute disaster. That’s football - you think some players will rise to the occasion and really blossom and others will struggle.
“When Shane Duffy signed for Brighton pundits were applauding him and I’m sure if you read the comments below the picture of him signing for Celtic on social media then every fan would have said ‘brilliant signing’.
“It seemed like a signing Celtic needed. I don’t know him personally but it feels like when things go against him it completely goes against him.
“When he first signed for Brighton from Blackburn he made a few mistakes early on and I feel when things are going against him it’s difficult for him to get out of it.
“I wouldn’t say Rangers took a punt on Leon Balogun because he’s an international who moved to an English Premier League side but he wasn’t a high profile signing.
“That’s where Steven Gerrard and Gary McAllister deserve huge credit because Rangers have been outstanding defensively and it’s testament to them as a coaching staff as that wasn’t their side of the game as players.
“But when you’ve got players like Alfredo Morelos in your side who can score then the defensive side wins you the league and this season they’ve won some tight games where they’ve had to really stick in and keep those clean sheets and Leon has been a big part of that.
“Credit to him because he must have taken a big knock being released from Brighton to Wigan in League One and now to have a Scottish Premiership winners’ medal.
“And it’s not like he’s been a bit-part player. He had decent run in the Europa League games where Rangers had a strong run and you can clearly see Steven Gerrard has got the best out of him.
“He’s 32 and helps with the younger players as well so I’m sure Nathan Patterson will be learning from him even though Leon isn’t a natural right back.”
While Duffy’s time north of the border has been error-prone, Virgo admitted it was Balogun who was more likely to make a mistake when the pair were Brighton team-mates.
The former Scotland B international said: “When Brighton first got promoted to the Premier League Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk were the two for Chris Hughton but in the second season they felt they needed an extra body.
“Leon came in on a free from Mainz and you could clearly see he was coming in as a back up and not a player to push those two. He was pretty dependable but unfortunately he made one or two mistakes and they all seemed to lead to goals.
“I didn’t think Brighton had a wrong ‘un when I watched him play but when you come to a new country and a side that is defending a lot more in the Premier League then it can take time to adjust.
“It’s not easy coming into a side when you’re a bit-part player and he seemed to make a mistake a game. He came on against Huddersfield as a substitute and was sent off after a couple of minutes, conceded a penalty against Crystal Palace in a game in which he also scored and gave a loose pass away against Chelsea who broke on the counter.
“The reliability side of him wasn’t quite there in the Premier League but he had other very good attributes. Unfortunately he just made one or two mistakes coming in as a squad player and he seems to have learned from that judging by this season.
“It’s good to see he’s done well at Rangers and it’s a similar situation in terms of him stepping up when players have been injured or rested either in place of Filip Helander or even filling in at right back in James Tavernier’s absence.
“He needed a run of games at Brighton to really settle in because he’d go away with Nigeria and play really well and then come back and sit on the bench for a load of games.
“He also picked up a few injuries as well so it was difficult to build any momentum and stake a place in the starting XI but full compliments to him because he’s been outstanding for Rangers.”
