Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Vakoun Issouf Bayo is a couple of weeks away from making his first team bow as he speaks about how highly rated the new signing is at Parkhead.
The Hoops managed to secure the striker’s signing from Dunajska Streda this month, the 22-year-old joining the likes of Oliver Burke and Timothy Weah in strengthening the options available to Rodgers up front for the rest of the season.
However, despite senior coach Kolo Toure being impressed with his fellow Ivorian, the manager confirmed his fitness levels mean that fans will have to wait to see him make his senior bow.
He told the Daily Record: “Bayo is a couple of weeks away. He hadn’t done anything since
December 8.
“He is what he is – a pure goalscorer. He has a good frame and will get stronger. It will take him a few weeks to get up to speed and adapt but I’m sure he will do very well. It’s important to bring in the right type of person to the environment.
“Kolo Toure spoke highly of Bayo as being a good guy. We talked through his strengths after we had watched him but Kolo could enlighten us a bit more. He’s not the finished article but one to develop.”
Opinion
Thankfully for Brendan Rodgers and the rest of the team at Parkhead the likes of Burke and Weah have started life extremely brightly with the Hoops and so Bayo’s absence should not be too much of a miss. At 22-years-old the new arrival has plenty of learning to do but at the same time will be expected to make an impact in the first team before the end of the season and so it is important that he works as hard as he can to get back up to fitness and make his debut for the club sooner rather than later. It is all well and good the striker working behind the scenes to increase his stamina and energy levels but the truth is that only real game time is going to get him back up to speed. A couple of substitute appearances over the coming weeks should get him to the necessary level to be making starts for the Bhoys and while he might not be expected to be thrown into the deep end, an injury to one of the more senior stars at Celtic Park could mean he is called upon sooner than first thought.