KAA Gent may be moving on from former Celtic striker Vakoun Bayo, mere months after his arrival, according to a report in Voetbalkrant.
There was plenty of surprise when the Belgian big-hitters moved for Celtic striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo in the summer.
Admittedly, the Belgian side also signed Eboue Kouassi in 2020, who wasn’t really given a chance to impress for the Bhoys. He is, however, now out on loan at FC Aruca in Portugal.
But KAA Gent, who snaffled Joseph Okumu from Celtic’s clutches in the summer, have a talented squad. Despite finishing 7th in the Jupiler Pro League last summer [Flashscore], their sights tend to be higher.
Therefore, signing Bayo, off the back of a decent season on loan with Toulouse, was somewhat of a shock. Especially when he’d been linked with moves to Morocco just weeks before.
Sadly, though, it’s not worked out at Gent for the former Celtic man, according to Voetbalkrant. Jettisoned to the Belgian top-flight from Celtic along with Marian Shved, Bayo hasn’t managed much in the way of game-time, let alone goals.
The £1.4m signing has had just 171 minutes of action, neither scoring nor assisting in that time [Transfermarkt]. So unimpressed is manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck that the club are already looking for buyers in January.
A sad time at KAA Gent for former Celtic striker Vakoun Bayo
I don’t know about you, but personally? I always liked the way Bayo put a shift in for Celtic, in limited minutes.
In Scotland, he was desperately unlucky. A harsh sending off against Rennes ruined his Europa League credentials. In the league, he should’ve had two perfectly good goals against Hearts, but both were awarded as own goals [Scotsman].
After that, he didn’t really get much of a chance. Quite understandable when he had Griffiths and Edouard ahead of him, but he seemed the Plan B that Brendan Rodgers, then Neil Lennon, could have utilised.
Something a bit different for Celtic when a more physical presence was required, perhaps. From how he played, you could tell he was giving every ounce of energy.
So to see him struggling after a big European move is a real shame, frankly. Of course, there’s still time for him to turn things around, but the likelihood of him getting sustained playing time to do that seems non-existent at this point.
His record at Toulouse was strong, and he was a prolific scorer before coming to Celtic. At just 24, he still has time to prove people wrong.
Read more: Celtic star Anthony Ralston credits time away from club for vast improvement
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