Who is Mohamed Bamba? The Celtic target who was dumped out of Lorient’s French Cup squad

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Celtic are reportedly interested in Lorient striker Mohamed Bamba after a failed bid to bring Kyogo Furuhashi back to the club.

The Ivorian forward is said to be of interest to Martin O’Neill after the Celtic manager confirmed that Kyogo will stay at Birmingham.

The Scottish Sun reports that Celtic have turned to the Ligue 1 striker and say that talks have already begun to bring Bamba to Paradise on loan with an option to buy.

I am choosing Callum Wilson/Kyogo Furuhashi because…

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But who is Mohamed Bamba and why was the Celtic target unceremoniously dumped from Lorient’s French Cup matchday squad at the weekend?

• READ MORE: Ex-SFA men slam ‘shocking’ Celtic VAR call over Julian Araujo ‘red card’ vs Dundee United

Why Celtic want 53-goal striker Mohamed Bamba

Mohamed Bamba is a 24-year-old Ivorian striker who plays for Ligue 1 side Lorient. Signed from Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC in the summer of 2024, the forward has scored just three goals in 16 appearances this season.

However, over the course of his career, Bamba has found the back of the net 53 times in 169 appearances in total contributing 26 assists too.

Bamba’s predominant position is a striker, but has been known to have been deployed on both wings during his career.

But why was the striker dumped out of Lorient’s French Cup matchday squad at the weekend and should Celtic be worried about it?

Celtic target Mohamed Bamba’s ‘lack of group discipline’ at Lorient

It appears that Bamba may have a ‘minor’ discipline issue at the Ligue 1 club and it seems his manager Olivier Pantaloni had no choice but to exclude him from the weekend’s matchday squad.

Pantaloni told Foot Amatuer Bretagne in a post-match interview after Lorient’s 1-1 draw with Hauts Lyonnais, “It’s simply a minor sanction for a lack of group discipline.

“Repeated lapses have led me to believe that, at a certain point, to perform well, one must also adhere to the discipline we’ve established.

“There have been a few shortcomings in this regard, and he has been sanctioned for them.”

To be banned from a full cup squad for not one but ‘repeated’ discipline issues does not bode well for Bamba or Celtic.

At a time when the Bhoys need unity at the club, are Bamba and his discipline issues, plus his lack of goalscoring this season, someone O’Neill really needs at the club right now?