BYE BY BAYO: £2m MISFIT HEADS FOR BELGIUM

CELTIC have offloaded Vakoun Issouf Bayo with the £2million misfit completing a move to KAA Gent.

The misfiring frontman, who scored a meagre two goals for the Hoops, quit the Ivory Coast Olympic squad to clinch his move to the Belgian club, as CQN reported yesterday.

He agreed a four-year deal with Gent while the Parkhead men will collect an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1.5million for the forward who spent last season on loan at French second-tier outfit Toulouse.

The Ivorian was bought by Brendan Rodgers in January 2019 on the say-so of his backroom man Kolo Toure who tipped his compatriot for big things. He was one of his last acquisitions for the Irishman who quit a month later for Leicester City.

Bayo made just nine Premiership appearances in two seasons and his two goals came against lower league opposition in Partick Thistle in the Betfred League Cup and Clyde in the Scottish Cup.

He managed to claim 10 goals for the French outfit, but they could not afford to make his move permanent following their failure to achieve promotion to Ligue 1. Club president Damien Comolli wanted the 24-year-old attacker on another temporary deal, but the Hoops were holding out for a fee to get the player off the books, according to a report in the Daily Record.

Gent Sports Manager Tim Matthys was clearly delighted with the transfer and told the club website: “Vakoun is a fast and agile striker who is very strong offensively. He is a player who will offer our coach many opportunities up front.”