Celtic forward Vakoun Issouf Bayo was left out of the Ivory Coast Under-23 side yesterday.
Whilst a host of Celtic players have been in action for their countries during the international break, Vakoun Issouf Bayo has endured a difficult time.
The Ivorian hitman was signed by Celtic in January having excelled in Slovakia with Dunajska Streda, scoring 22 goals in 32 games there.
Bayo, 22, was tipped for a bright future but has yet to really make an impact with Celtic, being limited to just one minute of first team action.
Bayo has admitted to the Daily Record that Brendan Rodgers leaving for Leicester City has somewhat damaged him, as the manager who signed him is no longer at Parkhead.
He now needs to impress Neil Lennon, and whilst he’s desperate to play, it seems unlikely that he’ll play any part in this Sunday’s Old Firm derby.
Bayo headed off on international duty with Ivory Coast’s Under-23’s this week, but was substituted early on against Niger on Friday, before being completely left out of Monday’s return leg against Niger in the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Surely the striker has picked up an injury in that case, and his Instagram story (seen below) showed a photo of him and his teammates celebrating, but Bayo was in a polo shirt instead of a kit, suggesting he was never going to be involved in the game.
With that in mind, any participation against Rangers seems even more unlikely, meaning Bayo will be sat watching his teammates once again when Celtic are lacking a centre forward option from the bench.
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