Vakoun Issouf Bayo has ditched his chance to represent his country at the Olympics in order to sort out his future with a move from Celtic to an as yet unnamed club in Belgium. That news will disappoint Toulouse who had hoped to bring the Celtic striker back to the club for the new season.
Last week the Celtic striker was named in the Ivory Coast’s squad for the Tokyo Olympics with get underway at the end of the month. However with his future up in the air, the striker has now decided to pass up on the chance to play in Japan so that he can sort out his Celtic exit.
An Ivory Coast FA spokesperson confirmed the withdrawal this morning. “We will try to replace him in the squad after this. But as it stands, we don’t think the IOC will accept our request since the deadline for submitting the lists has expired,” the spokesperson stated, as reported by SportMania.
🇨🇮 Vakoun #Bayo is close to leave Celtic to sign in Belgium.
Bayo is leaving the Ivory Coast squad and won’t participate at the Olympics according to SportMania, ivorian media.— Celtic France (@Celtic_FR) July 9, 2021
The Toulouse President, Damien Comolli has been eager to secure the player on another loan and had a verbal assurance from the player that this was happening but it was always unclear whether Celtic would entertain another loan rather than a transfer, in the same way that Jack Hendry was recently sold to Oostende after his successful loan there last season. Marian Shved is in a similar position with Celtic preferring to sell unwanted fringe players rather than do second loan agreements with the same clubs.
Bayo was a ‘project’ signing from Slovakian side Dunajska Streda in January 2019 for £2m – presumably the sum that Celtic will be looking to recoup from Belgium.
With Bayo set to leave, Leigh Griffiths currently under investigation for an alleged incident and Odsonne Edouard desperate for a move away from Celtic, Ange Postecoglou is certain to be looking at increasing his attacking options. Albian Ajeti and Edouard both scored in the 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday earlier this week as the Australian got his first look at his new squad in action.
🇨🇮 | Vakoun Issouf Bayo
Ivory Coast have confirmed that Vakoun Issouf Bayo has left their squad for the Tokyo Olympics in order to seal a transfer.
The striker who joined Celtic in 2019 for £2M will now travel to Belgium for talks with an unnamed club. pic.twitter.com/nTUnVR94IN
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) July 9, 2021
