Celtic have confirmed that they have agreed a transfer deal with Belgian top flight side Gent for striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo for a fee of £1.4m. Yesterday we reported that Bayo had withdrawn from the Ivory Coast Olympics squad to sort out his move to Belgium and in doing so frustrate the Toulouse president Damien Comolli who had hoped to secure the Celtic striker for a second loan spell at the Ligue 2 side.
Thank you and good luck to Vakoun Bayo who joins @KAAGent on a permanent deal! 🍀🇨🇮 https://t.co/YkVk7hZJKD
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 9, 2021
Bayo though has now got a move to a top division where he’ll come up against the likes of Jack Hendry, now a Oostende player after his £1.5m transfer from Celtic was confirmed last month and perhaps Marian Shved who may also end up playing in Belgium’s top division this season, if he can get his own move from Celtic sorted.
It certainly seems to be the case that Dom McKay is resisting attempts at extending loan deals for fringe players who are not going to be part of the long term plans at Celtic and instead is looking at securing transfer deals and that has been the case in recent months with Patryk Klimala heading to New York (£3.5m), Hendry’s Oostende move (£1.5m) and now Vakoun Issouf Bayo leaving to join Gent for £1.3m.
Welcome Vakoun Bayo!
🇨🇮 Ivoriaan
🙋🏾♂️ 24 jaar
⚽ Aanvaller#kaagent #transfer https://t.co/QniNdzASIj— KAA Gent (@KAAGent) July 9, 2021
Bayo was a ‘project’ signing from Slovakian side Dunajska Streda in January 2019 for £2m, so Celtic have made a loss on this transfer. Bayo contribution on the park for Celtic was modest to say the least although the player did have two periods on the sidelines with hamstring injuries. Few supporters ever really held out much hope that he’d be good enough to lead the line for Celtic, but he’s got plenty of time and opportunity to make anime for himself at a decent level in Belgium’s top division. We wish him well.
