Unable to find some game time under Neil Lennon at Celtic as he was left out of the squad for the entire first half of the 2019-20 season, Eboue Kouassi went to Belgium to find some game time.
A loan deal was struck between the Scottish Premiership champions and KRC Genk for the Ivorian’s transfer, with an option to buy included for good measure.
While he didn’t immediately fit into Hannes Wolf’s plans, the 22-year-old did start to find his stride, selected in the first eleven in the last three games before the season was suspended.
They won two of those, which suggests he was a valuable asset, only losing to eventual champions Cercle Brugge, and now a decision needs to be made at Genk regarding his future.
However, speaking to Het Belang Van Limburg, the club’s technical director, Dimitri de Condé, still doesn’t know what to do.
He said: “My focus is currently on the setup of the squad for next season. That has yet to be a final decision in the files of [Thomas] Didillon and Kouassi, two players whose purchase option in the loan must be lifted before the end of May. I also have discussions with players from our squad through alternative channels, such as FaceTime.
“I spend a lot of time looking at possible reinforcements on WyScout, the platform on which all possible game tapes can be found. Although we don’t yet officially know how or when this season will end, or when the next one will start, we still need to prepare as well as possible”.
Since his move to Scotland from Krasnodar in Russia in 2017, Eboue Kouassi has only ever made 22 appearances for Celtic, managing one assist.