Vakoun Issouf Bayo hasn’t made his Celtic bow as of yet.
Celtic will look to take another step toward defending their Scottish Cup title by beating St Johnstone in a fifth-round clash at Parkhead on Sunday.
It’ll be the third time in 12 days that Celtic have faced the Perth club.
Saints manager Tommy Wright must have a fair idea of what manager Brendan Rodgers will be planning at this point, but the Celtic boss should consider a major curveball in the form of Vakoun Issouf Bayo.
The Ivorian hitman hasn’t kicked a ball for the Hoops since joining in a £2 million deal [The Record] last month, but Sunday’s visit in the Scottish Cup could be ideal.
Wright will be expecting one of Oliver Burke or Timo Weah to spearhead the Hoops’ attack. He won’t be planning for Bayo and that’s why Rodgers could catch his opposite number by surprise to some extent.
The 22-year-old, described by his manager at international level as a ‘killer in front of goal’ [The Record], offers something very different to Burke, Weah or even the injured Odsonne Edouard. He is a major threat aerially and, well, St Johnstone won’t have a pre-prepared game plan to combat him.
Bayo, who scored 18 goals in 23 outings for Slovakian top-flight side Dunajska Streda this season, has been training regularly since Celtic returned from Dubai last month and Rodgers should really consider him for this weekend.
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