Vakoun Issouf Bayo has been left out of Celtic’s Europa League squad, according to the Scottish Sun.
Celtic could only include three of their four new signings in their revised squad list for the tie against Valencia.
Although Timothy Weah and Oliver Burke have deputised up front, Bayo is seen as the most natural striker other than Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard.
If Edouard’s injury would rule him out of the Valencia tie, Bayo may have found himself on the list.
Celtic were placed in a tricky situation with their revised Europa League squad list. Burke and Weah were certainties to be added due to their early performances.
Jeremy Toljan has also been added, at the expense of Bayo. This could mean that Edouard’s injury, sustained on Sunday, is not serious.
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Of course it could mean that even if Edouard is out of the Valencia tie, Rodgers trusts Burke and Weah to spearhead the attack.
However, with no news yet on Edouard’s condition, it is a case of ‘no news is good news’ for Celtic fans.
Bayo has yet to feature since his move to Celtic in January. Unlike Weah and Burke, who have been thrown in, it seems Rodgers is keen to ease the Ivorian into life at Celtic.
With many still questioning whether Burke and Weah can be focal points in attack, Bayo’s introduction is one that is anticipated highly at Celtic.
If Edouard’s injury is serious, and he faces another prolonged absence, Bayo’s introduction may not be far away.
However, he won’t be taking to the field during the Valencia tie later this month. He’s not part of the Europa League squad for this season at least.
The firing Europa League squad
Celtic’s second half of the season promises to be an extremely exciting one. And the Bhoys have geared up for a frantic end to the season.
They have scored 14 goals without reply since the restart and show no signs of slowing up on their way to goal.
Burke, Bayo, Weah and Edouard are all vying for a place. It’s fair to say Celtic won’t be short of goals until the end of the season.
But they will have to defeat Valencia without the services of their new Ivorian striker.