Alex Jones 
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Celtic have been dealt a blow to their squad options following confirmation from Ligue 2 side Toulouse that Vakoun Bayo wishes to stay in France.
The club have declared that they intend to make moves to sign Bayo, with the Ivorian having ‘received’ the club’s ‘proposal’.
He has impressed in France’s second division, mustering 12 goals on loan with the western side.
He also scored in their play-off defeat against FC Nantes, with his goal not enough to see Toulouse return back to the top flight of French football.
Bayo’s spell in Scotland was less fruitful, with Bayo failing to score a single Premiership goal and only making nine appearances throughout his Hoops career.
He joined in 2019 for a fee of £2 million, but it is unclear as to whether Celtic would be able to recoup that fee.
Celtic fan account Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) took to Twitter to share the update, offering thoughts in a later Tweet:
Twitter:
| Vakoun Issouf Bayo
Celtic striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo looks set to leave the club this summer.
French side To… https://t.co/SQcj8Vo9Yh (@aboutceltic)
Twitter: Bayo is a player I’d have liked to stay at Celtic.
He offers a completely different outlet than any other player a… https://t.co/xTtmlq8hvF (@aboutceltic)
In a meeting with Toulouse supporters, club president Damien Comolli confirmed their interest in Bayo as he outlined short-term transfer objectives [via The Daily Record]:
“Vakoun wants to stay with us and he has now received our proposal.
“Of the two other players we had on loan last season, the option to uby Brecht Dejaegere has been exercised, but on the other hand, Sebastien Dewaest will not return because his salary is too high.”
Read Celtic Verdict
Having failed to significantly make the grade in Glasgow, many Celtic fans will surely not be rueing his potential departure.
A more pressing concern could be the expenses of a deal; Bayo looked to be a left-field signing from Slovakian side Dunajska Streda that now looks to have backfired.
As a consolation, to see a revival in form in France and a confirmed suitor will at least prevent Celtic from having an unwanted asset that cannot be offloaded.
