Vakoun Issouf Bayo (born 10 January 1997) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Watford on loan from Serie A side Udinese, and the Ivory Coast national team. He is nicknamed The Crow.[1]

Vakoun Issouf Bayo
Bayo with Toulouse in 2020
Personal information
Full name Vakoun Issouf Bayo
Date of birth (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Daloa, Ivory Coast
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Watford
Number 19
Youth career
Stade d'Abidjan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Étoile du Sahel 11 (0)
2018–2019 Dunajská Streda 25 (14)
2019–2021 Celtic 9 (0)
2020–2021Toulouse (loan) 31 (10)
2021–2022 Gent 3 (0)
2022Charleroi (loan) 16 (11)
2022 Charleroi 0 (0)
2022–2024 Watford 63 (10)
2023Charleroi (loan) 10 (3)
2024– Udinese 0 (0)
2024–Watford (loan) 19 (9)
International career
2015 Ivory Coast U23 4 (1)
2018– Ivory Coast 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Club career

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Dunajská Streda

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Bayo joined Dunajská Streda in March 2018.[2] He made his Slovak league debut against Slovan Bratislava on 18 March 2018.[3]

Celtic

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Bayo moved to Scottish Premiership club Celtic in January 2019.[4] He was left out of the Celtic squad for the later stages of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, with the club only able to register three of their four January window signings.[5] He made his debut for Celtic against Kilmarnock on 17 February 2019, coming on as a late substitute shortly before Scott Brown scored a late winner.[6][7]

Toulouse (loan)

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On 12 August 2020, Bayo signed for French club Toulouse, on a one-year loan, with an additional option to buy.[8]

Gent

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On 9 July 2021, Bayo signed for Belgian First Division A club Gent on a four-year deal.[9]

Charleroi

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On 22 December 2021, Bayo agreed to join Charleroi on loan until the end of the season, with an option to buy.[10] On 16 May 2022, Charleroi confirmed that they had exercised the option to purchase and had signed Bayo on a contract until 2026 after a successful loan spell that saw him score eleven goals in sixteen matches.[11]

Watford

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On 2 July 2022, Bayo joined EFL Championship club Watford on a five-year deal.[12]

Charleroi (loan)

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On 30 January 2023, Bayo rejoined Charleroi on loan until the end of the season.[13]

Udinese

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On 29 August 2024, Bayo signed a four-season contract with Udinese in Italy, and was loaned back to Watford for the rest of the 2024–25 season.[14]

Return to Watford

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On 2 November 2024, Bayo scored four goals in the second half of a Championship league game to give The Hornets a 6–2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. [15]

Career statistics

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As of 26 November 2024[16][17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Étoile du Sahel 2015-16 CLP-1 2 0 0 0 4[c] 0 6 0
2016–17 CLP-1 9 0 0 0 9 0
Total 11 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 15 0
Dunajská Streda 2017–18 Slovak Super Liga 9 4 0 0 9 4
2018–19 Slovak Super Liga 16 10 3 5 4[d] 3 23 18
Total 25 14 3 5 0 0 4 3 32 22
Celtic 2018–19 Scottish Premiership 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2019–20 8 0 2 1 1 1 5[e] 0 16 2
Total 9 0 2 1 1 1 5 0 17 2
Toulouse (loan) 2020–21 Ligue 2 31 10 3 2 0 0 2[f] 1 36 13
Gent 2021–22 Belgian First Division A 3 0 1 0 3[g] 0 7 0
Charleroi (loan) 2021–22 Belgian First Division A 16 11 0 0 16 11
Watford 2022–23 Championship 24 4 0 0 1 0 25 4
2023–24 Championship 39 6 2 0 1 1 42 7
Total 63 10 2 0 2 1 67 11
Udinese 2024–25 Serie A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Watford (loan) 2024–25 Championship 16 7 0 0 1 0 17 7
Charleroi (loan) 2022–23 Belgian First Division A 10 3 0 0 10 3
Career total 184 57 11 8 4 2 18 4 217 71
  1. ^ Includes appearances in Slovak Cup, Scottish Cup, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in CAF Confederation Cup
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League and four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearance(s) in Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs
  7. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

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Celtic

References

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  1. ^ "Europe W2W4: Galatasaray's loss of Dagne to be Club Brugge's gain?". ESPN. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  2. ^ Vakoun Issouf Bayo posilou DAC-u 13 March 2018, fcdac.sk
  3. ^ SLOVAN BRATISLAVA VS. DAC 2 – 0 18 March 2018, soccerway.com
  4. ^ "Celtic: club sign Ivory Coast striker Vakoun Issouf Bayo on four-year deal". BBC Sport. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Celtic: No place for Vakoun Issouf Bayo in Europa League squad". BBC Sport. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Kilmarnock 0–1 Celtic". BBC. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Scottish Premiership: Reaction after late Brown goal gives Celtic win at Kilmarnock". BBC. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Celtic's Vakoun Bayo completes Toulouse loan deal as Hoops continue striker hunt". HeraldScotland.
  9. ^ "WELCOME VAKOUN BAYO!". kaagent.be/nl (in Dutch). 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  10. ^ "BIENVENUE, VAKOUN !" (Press release) (in French). Charleroi. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  11. ^ "VAKOUN BAYO DÉFINITIVEMENT ZÈBRE JUSQU'EN 2026!" [VAKOUN BAYO DEFINITELY ZEBRA UNTIL 2026!]. sporting-charleroi.be (in French). 16 May 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Official: Watford Sign Bayo". watfordfc.com. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022. Also referred to as 'Chippy Bayo' for his clinical chip shot finishes.
  13. ^ "Official: Bayo Completes Loan Switch". Watford FC. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Bayo è un giocatore dell'Udinese" [Bayo is a player of Udinese] (in Italian). Udinese. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Sheffield Wednesday 2-6 Watford: Vakoun Bayo hits four in thrashing". BBC Sport. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  16. ^ Vakoun Issouf Bayo at Soccerbase
  17. ^ Vakoun Issouf Bayo at Soccerway
  18. ^ "Celtic champions & Hearts relegated after SPFL ends season". BBC Sport. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
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