Celtic looked at signing a £152 million star in the making, Bayo arrived instead.
With a commanding 6-0 victory on the road at St Johnstone on Saturday, Celtic maintained their incredible start to the Scottish Premiership.
With six straight victories in the division under their belt and an incredible six clean sheets under Kasper Schmeichel’s belt, the Hoops have not let up a goal.
Half of the team’s goals this weekend came from Brendan Rodgers’ forwards, who combined for two goals in the first half from Kyogo Furuhashi and one goal from Adam Idah, a substitute who came on as a substitute.
After scoring two goals in all competitions before Saturday, the Japan international quadrupled his season total. However, he also missed three “big chances” against St Johnstone, bringing his total of missed opportunities in the Premiership this year to ten.
With four goals in his last three games, Idah will be looking to push Kyogo all season long in the hopes of earning a spot in the starting lineup.
Celtic demonstrated their belief in the young marksman’s ability to do so by spending £8.5 million to sign him from Norwich City on a permanent basis during the summer transfer window.
Vakoun Bayo is one example of the Hoops’ less than fortunate acquisition of potential center-forwards who still need to mature.
How much Celtic paid for Vakoun Bayo
In 16 games in all competitions for the Scottish powerhouses in 2019–20, the Ivory Coast international contributed two goals and one assist.
Following Celtic’s decision to loan Bayo to Toulouse in Ligue 2, the youthful player created a name for himself in France, tallying 13 goals in 36 matches.
Even though the forward had a great loan time, the Hoops lost money on him since he struggled on the field for the squad and saw his worth decline. They traded him to Gent of Belgium for £1.4 million in the summer of 2021.
The Ivory Coast international made 16 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish powerhouses in the 2019–20 season, chipping up with two goals and one assist.
After Celtic made the decision to loan Bayo out to Toulouse in Ligue 2, the young player had a successful season in France, scoring 13 goals in 36 games.
The forward struggled on the field for the team and saw his value drop, so the Hoops lost money on him even though he had an excellent loan period. In the summer of 2021, they sold him to Gent of Belgium for a fee of £1.4 million.Things could have been very different for the Premiership champions, however, as they had reportedly sent scouts to watch Erling Haaland in action before they signed Bayo.
When Celtic passed up on Erling Haaland
When Haland was playing for Molde versus Glenavon in a summer 2018 Europa League qualifier, scouts from Celtic reportedly kept an eye on him.
It was alleged that Hearts and other European teams were also monitoring the 18-year-old Norwegian youth international who was making waves with Molde at the time.
The youthful shooter scored four goals in five Europa League qualifying matches that season and twelve goals in twenty-five league games in the 2018 season while the scouts were present.
However, Celtic did not opt to go any further with their interest in the teenage marksman and that allowed RB Salzburg to swoop in and sign him for a fee of £4.5m in January 2019.
They made a mistake by not acting on their interest in Haaland, even if it may never be known if he would have declined a move to Salzburg to play for the Scottish powerhouses.
They moved for Bayo in the same transfer window that the Norwegian star joined the Austrian team, indicating that they were obviously looking to bolster their attack with a young, talented striker; however, they ultimately decided to sign the Ivorian.
Given that he is worth far more than the £4.5 million that Celtic was able to pay for him at the beginning of 2019, Haaland is undoubtedly one that got away.
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