Report: Relegated French side ready to pay £500k for Celtic man, St. Mirren also keen

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The Times have claimed that relegated French side Toulouse are ready to table a £500,000 fee to sign Celtic striker Vakoun Bayo this summer – but the Hoops outcast could also remain in Scotland with St. Mirren.

Bayo, 23, joined Celtic for £2million (Herald) in January 2019 from Slovakian club Dunajska Streda, where he had scored 18 goals in 23 matches during the first half of the 2018-19 campaign. But his Celtic move has flopped.

Indeed, the two-time Ivory Coast international has managed just 17 appearances for Celtic in 18 months – scoring only two goals. The Hoops are looking to sign a striker and Bayo is expected to leave in order to make room.

Toulouse, who were relegated from the top tier of French football after finishing rock bottom in Ligue 1, are ready to pay £500,000 for Bayo – a quarter of the fee Brendan Rodgers spent in January 2019. St. Mirren want him on loan.

TBR’s view – Bayo needs to go, but are Celtic ready to make a loss?

Celtic are renowned for signing unknown stars from the depths of Europe for minimal figures and then selling them on. Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama and plenty of others are examples.

Bayo was potentially eyed as another example of that but unfortunately, he has failed to live up to his £2million price tag and certainly failed to extend his value further. If Celtic receive £500,000, they have got to cash in.