Bayo heading to Toulouse
Celtic striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo, who has struggled to make an impact since joining the club in January 2019, is to join the French club Toulouse on loan.
His departure could free up funds for manager Neil Lennon to sign another striker.
Celtic remain in talks with free agent Steven Fletcher and West Ham United’s Albian Ajeti.
Leon Balogun spent five months at Wigan battling against relegation – but he admits the stresses at the bottom of the English Championship are unlikely to come close to the pressure facing Rangers as they aim to halt ten in a row.
The Nigeria defender still feels a burning sense of injustice after seeing the Latics plunged into chaos when they went into administration last month. Despite Wigan collecting enough points to finish comfortably in mid-table, the owners’ shock decision to place the club into administration on 1 July landed them with a 12-point penalty which ultimately sent them down.
It is credit to Balogun and his team-mates that they refused to bow to the situation and took their fight for survival to the final day. But he knows it will likely take the same kind of gritty effort from his new side if Rangers are to put the brakes on Celtic’s quest for a record-breaking tenth straight Premiership title this season.
“I thought about the pressure I’ll face here compared to at Wigan not too long ago,” said the 32-year-old. “It’s similar I’d say, but with the size of this club and the expectation I think you will get to feel a bit more frustration than maybe you would getting relegated at a different club.
“Do I feel an injustice about what happened to Wigan? Definitely. I’m sad actually as I really enjoyed my stay at the club. I just hope the club can recover soon.”
Balogun is still getting to grips with his new surroundings. Social media has given him some insight but the message from the Rangers fans is clear – Celtic must be stopped and the Ibrox club’s 55th domestic crown clinched.
“I still have to learn about [the size of Rangers] because with the fans being excluded and all the restrictions, I’ve not been able to get a full idea yet,” he admitted. “Over social media you get an idea but it’s not the reality. But I think Rangers’ ambition is pretty clear. I’ve read a hashtag – ‘Stop the 10’, something like that. And the number 55 is a big one, too. So that’s a pretty clear goal for this team. Obviously the club will do everything to accomplish that.”
Balogun certainly made his mark on his new supporters with a classy display on his debut last week against Aberdeen. But with Steven Gerrard’s summer recruits ineligible for Thursday’s clash with Bayerleverkuseningermany, Filip Helander took his chance to impress on his return from an eight-month injury lay-off.
Balogun now faces a fight to reclaim his spot against St Mirren tomorrow but he is ready for the challenge.
“That’s actually something I’ve enjoyed the most from the start,” he said. “It’s a different demand, a different mindset around everybody at the club. There’s a competitiveness in every aspect of the club and that helps you to keep on top of your game.”
Saints boss Jim Goodwin handed debuts to ex-rangers keeper Jak Alnwick and defenders Richard Tait, Marcus Fraser and Joe Shaughnessy in their opener against Livingston and was given “loads of encouragement” by their display in a 1-0 win.
“Jak Alnwick in goal and the back four took a lot of plaudits on Saturday and rightly so,” he said. “That’s the first time they have actually played together full stop, never mind in a pre-season friendly, because Marcus and Joe Shaughnessy came in late and with the coronavirus problem we had, that game against St Johnstone got postponed.
“Considering everything we had to deal with in the buildup to that game, missing four days of training, valuable days of training, putting a new back four together with a new goalkeeper, coming away with the kind of performance the lads put on was quite remarkable.”
“There’s a competitiveness in every aspect of the club that helps you keep on top of your game”
LEON BALOGUN