Vakoun Issouf Bayo, the striker primarily for Udinese, was born on 10 January 1997 in the Ivory Coast. He stands at 6ft (1.84m) and weighs 12st 12lb (82kg). Over the course of his career, Bayo has proudly represented his home nation on the Ivory Coast's national team.
Currently, Bayo holds a market value of approximately £3.5m according to Transfermarkt. His contract with Udinese is due to expire on 30 June 2028, with close to 7 years remaining.
The footballer's career began in earnest in July 2014, starting as a trainee with Stade d'Abidjan in the Ivory Coast's Ligue 1. In September of the following year, Bayo transferred to Étoile du Sahel in Tunisia's Ligue Professionnelle 1, with the move costing around £180k. Over his first two seasons with Étoile du Sahel, he made a total of eleven first-team appearances in league matches.
Bayo embarked on a new chapter in his footballing journey in March 2018, transferring to DAC Dunajská Streda in the Slovakian First Football League. He made a total of 25 first team appearances and recorded 14 goals in his two seasons there.
In a significant move of his career, Bayo joined Celtic in the Scottish Premiership in January 2019 for a fee of around £2m. Although his first season with the club saw limited play with only one league appearance, the 2019 - 2020 season brought a improved tally of eight league appearances and two goals.
In August 2020, he found himself moving to Toulouse in France's Ligue 1, albeit on loan. In his single season there, Bayo appeared 30 times and netted ten goals for the club. Following his successful spell at Toulouse, he was transferred permanently from Celtic to Gent in the Belgian Pro League for around £1.4m in July 2021. However, his run with Gent was relatively short, featuring in just three league matches.
Halfway through the 2021 - 2022 season, Bayo moved on loan to Charleroi, also in the Belgian Pro League. During his time at Charleroi, he netted ten goals in 22 league appearances across two seasons, before being sold by Gent to Charleroi for £1.4m in July 2022.
Within the same month, the striker sealed yet another transfer, this time to Watford in England's Championship for a considerably larger fee of £5m. Over the course of three seasons with Watford, Bayo made a significant contribution with a total of 104 appearances and twenty goals.
In January 2023, Bayo found himself loaned out again, returning to his former club Charleroi. This loan spell saw the player score another ten goals in 22 appearances. His time with Charleroi ended in June 2023 as he returned to Watford to continue his stint in the English game.
In August 2024, Bayo transferred from Watford to Udinese in Italy's Serie A for an undisclosed fee. However, his entire first season at Udinese saw no league appearances. This was followed by an odd turn of events where Bayo, despite being a Udinese player, found himself loaned back to Watford for the 2024 - 2025 season, making 41 appearances and scoring ten goals in league matches.
