Vakoun Issouf Bayo: Celtic sign Ivory Coast striker on four-year deal - BBC Sport

Vakoun Issouf Bayo: Celtic sign Ivory Coast striker on four-year deal

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Bayo (left) has scored 18 goals in 23 games for his club this seasonImage source, EPA
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Bayo (left) has scored 18 goals in 23 games for his club this season

Celtic have signed Ivory Coast striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo on a four-year deal from Slovakian side Dunajska Streda.

The 21-year-old forward has scored 18 goals in 23 games this season, helping his team into second place in the Slovakian Super Liga.

The deal - worth a reported £2m, external - is subject to a work permit and a medical and is Celtic's third deal this month.

"He's a player that has scored goals, and he's a player we can develop," said Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.

"We're a team that plays an aggressive and attacking game, and I felt that was an area that we were short in, in terms of our options. Bringing Vakoun in gives us a physicality, as well as a presence and speed.

"This allows us more options in terms of the systems that we play. The style will always be the same, but it increases the way in which we can play."

Celtic have already brought in West Brom winger Oliver Burke and Paris Saint-Germain striker Timothy Weah on loan until the end of the season.

Bayo joined Dunajska Streda in March last year, having previously spent two years playing in Tunisia.

He has two caps for the Ivory Coast, and made his senior international debut in October last year, appearing from the bench in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against the Central African Republic.