HOOPS CLINCH BAYO SIGNING
CELTIC last night sealed the £2million signing of Vakoun Issouf Bayo as boss Brendan Rodgers vowed to lift “phenomenal” fellow recruit Oliver Burke to the next level.
The Hoops made it three new signings in four days with a four-year deal for the Ivory Coast striker, left, from
FROM BACK PAGE Slovak side Dunajska Streda. Bayo’s move is subject to a medical and a work permit but the agreements are in place with Rodgers boosting his squad with the capture of another key target.
The 21-year-old was wanted by Rapid Vienna, Dinamo Kiev and Parma but the Scottish champions have won the race for the hitman who has bagged 18 goals in 23 games this season.
And as Rodgers also welcomed Burke and PSG hitkid Timothy Weah into the fold he insists the club have to keep pushing and making improvements.
Although Bayo is not in Dubai, on-loan West Brom winger Burke has been with the squad since the beginning of their training camp on Monday.
And Rodgers is adamant he can build on the 21-year-old’s exciting attributes by adding the missing aspects of his game for the benefit of both the player and Celtic.
He said: “Oliver is obviously a very exciting talent. He burst on to the scene at Nottingham Forest and I remember watching a game and thinking what a talent he was but then it all went very quickly for him.
“From Forest, to Leipzig to a new country, new style, new way of working and he wasn’t there that long before he came back, so it’s a very important time for him at 21.
“His key strengths are his pace and power and an eye for goal.
“But what he should enjoy is that he’s coming to a good coaching environment and he’s going to need to work in that side of the game.
“My conversations with him is he’s very keen to learn, he’s very keen to take on that responsibility.
“And there’s elements of his game where we can change a little that can change a lot for him individually and that will obviously benefit our team. His pace and power is phenomenal and he has a nice touch on the ball. Running in behind and into goal, so we hope we can utilise that and improve his quality and his game.”
Weah has also joined on loan and Rodgers is still in the market for more signings. Other targets include Atalanta’s Belgian international right-back Timothy Castagne while American left-back Andrew Gutman is also believed to be on the radar for the Hoops having been on trial with Rangers last month.
Rodgers wants to keep pushing from a position of strength and told Celtic TV: “In my time at the club there has been lots of change. The market has changed quite considerably really when you lose players.
“We came out of the summer where we lost key players and the players up until this point have done very well.
“But it’s always important you can improve and that will be down to the availability and of course as always with Celtic, the affordability of the player.
“Any good team needs competition and that’s what being at the big clubs is all about but they have to be good players.
“It’s very important you can always add and the best time to move forward is when you are succeeding. We have done great over the past two-and-a-half years but we have to keep improving and developing and looking ahead. It’s a key time to improve.”