New Celtic signing Vakoun Issouf Bayo could’ve reportedly signed for Inter Milan, but for a promise from Celtic.
According to the Daily Express, the Serie A heavyweights tried to make an 11th-hour bid for Bayo. This came after interest from both Parma and Rapid Vienna never ended in success.
Celtic were the ones to ultimately bag their man, and Bayo will meet up with his team-mates in Dubai.
The club’s first match when they return will be a Scottish Cup tie against Aidrieonians at Parkhead. And despite Odsonne Edouard and Timothy Weah initially being favourites to start, it could be Bayo who gets the nod. That’s because the Hoops made him a promise that Inter just couldn’t.
What swayed the Ivorian striker was the fact that Brendan Rodgers was happy to offer him regular game-time this season. Inter, on the other hand, were keen to loan him out when he joined.
Just the fact that the San Siro club were interested shows the pulling power that Celtic still have. The Hoops are clearly still widely-respected around the footballing world, and Bayo’s choice of moving to Glasgow shows that.
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What is interesting, however, is just how Rodgers plays this new striker dilemma he has.
How does Rodgers keep all three happy?
With Bayo now being guaranteed regular games, that’s a game-changer.
Many would’ve initially believed that Edouard and Weah would be the ones to either partner up or replace each other on a weekly-basis. Bayo, you would’ve assumed would’ve been used had anyone got injured.
It perhaps could be the case that Edouard shifts out to the left, threatening Scott Sinclair’s place. Celtic only generally play with the one up front, and it’s difficult to see Rodgers fielding an XI that doesn’t have both Edouard and Weah in it. But they did have success with a 4-3-3 system in pre-season.
But a promise is a promise, and Bayo will want to see that game-time he turned down Inter for.
Supporters will be pleased that Celtic are still able to fend off European giants when it comes to these types of signings. Bayo hopefully has a lot to offer, with the idea being he’ll eventually be moved on for an eight-figure fee if he’s successful.
How do you think Rodgers is planning to use his trio of forwards with this new promise to Bayo? Will it be a change to two up top? Constant rotation? Let us know your thoughts on this given the new information.