Celtic have been linked (Daily Record) with a move for Vakoun Issouf Bayo who currently plies his trade in the Slovakian league for Dunajska Streda. Their initial bid of £1.75m was rejected (Daily Record) by the club, and it is believed that the Hoops are going to come up with a new improved offer of £2m next.
The report also adds that the Slovakian club is looking for a fee in the region of £2.3m and it remains to be seen whether they would accept this second bid from the Hoops. Moreover, the young striker is himself keen on a move to Glasgow even though earlier it was reported that clubs like Rapid Wien and Parma were also interested in his signature.
It should come as no surprise that the Hoops are after a striker as Brendan Rodgers currently has only Odsonne Edouard at his disposal. Leigh Griffiths is out for an indefinite time and not having a fit striker for the Old Firm Derby probably affected Celtic’s chances as Edouard only managed to play half hour of the game.
Rodgers gave an indication (Sky Sports) earlier that he could look to sign as many as two strikers this month and they definitely seem keen on Issouf Bayo. A name like this might not excite the fans much as he is an unknown entity at the moment but his goalscoring record speaks for itself, and the Ivorian is definitely seen as a big talent.
This season the young forward has managed 18 goals and seven assists in 23 games and the 21-year-old is definitely a rising star in football. Serie A teams like Parma have also been linked with a move for him, so that shows that the striker is definitely doing something right. His goal scoring exploits have kept his side in the title race but it seems like he could leave Dunajska Streda midway and that could be a massive loss for them.
The Slovakian side signed him last year only, but it seems like the striker could leave the club within a year. The 21-year-old is also an Ivory Coast international at the u-23 level. The striker did well even in the Europa League qualifiers as he managed three goals in four appearances.
The forward might take time to settle in at the club, and the physicality of the league might trouble him initially. However, he is likely to be the backup striker to Odsonne Edouard, so he is going to be slowly eased into the first team if Rodgers manages to secure his signature. In such a scenario, Rodgers should definitely sanction a move for the forward.
