IT’S STILL NO FUN ON THE BAYO FOR JIM
JIM GOODWIN admits he’s gutted Toulouse out on having a Celtic striker in his St Mirren side to face Rangers tomorrow.
The Buddies boss had been hopeful of finally tieing up a loan move for Hoops hitman Vakoun Issouf Bayo after narrowly missing out on similar deal for him in January.
But instead of a loan move to Paisley, Bayo is expected to make a loan switch to French side Toulouse.
The Ivory Coast striker underwent a medical at the Ligue 2 side yesterday.
Disappointed Goodwin said: “We felt we were really close to getting Bayo in January.
“We were quite far down the line with Celtic and the player and his agent were quite keen to come and get some regular first-team football.
“Unfortunately Celtic suffered an injury a couple of days prior to the window closing and were trying to get another one in before letting Bayo out.
“It never happened back then but we made it clear to them at the start of pre-season that if the player became available again we’d certainly be keen to try and make something work.
“In fairness, Celtic were very open and honest about the situation. They said there was interest from abroad so we knew it was a long shot.
“But I think if you don’t ask the question, you’ll never know. The player has now decided to go to France and we wish him well.”
While Goodwin finds himself still looking to bolster his depleted striking department, Rangers could have two new strikers in their squad tomorrow after splashing out £6million on former Leeds star Kemar Roofe and Swiss international rookie Cedric Itten.
Goodwin claims he relishes the challenge of competing against clubs like Rangers with a much healthier budget.
He insisted: “It’s not frustrating to see Rangers bringing in these strikers.
“I think everybody expected Rangers and Celtic to strengthen as that’s the beauty of being a big club with a decent size budget.
“You can afford to bring in top quality players and it looks as if Rangers have signed two very good players.
“It remains to be seen how they do in our league but in the previous leagues they’ve been in they’ve had decent success.
“I’ve just got to try and get the best out of the players I’ve got.
“We’re still looking for another striker, we’re speaking to one or two at the moment.
“There’s no real rush but we’d like to get someone in by the end of this month to get them up to speed and get more competition in the forward areas.
“We’ve only got two recognised strikers in the squad in Jon Obika and Junior Morias so we really do need another one.”
Goodwin added: “If we can get a natural striker in and around the penalty area with a track record of scoring goals, then that’s what we’re after.
“There’s money in the budget for one more, but it won’t be a £4.5m striker that’s for sure.
“At the same time if that right one comes along that’s going to make a difference the board have assured me they’ll give me the support needed to make it happen.”