Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo joined the Hornets in July 2022 from RSC Charleroi.
After starting his professional career in Tunisia with Étoile du Sahel, Bayo got the opportunity to move to Dunajská Streda in Slovakia in March 2018.
His goalscoring prowess was on display as he scored 22 times in 32 games for the club, helping them finish runners-up in the top-flight in 2018/19. Notably, during this season Bayo scored three goals over two legs in a Europa League qualifying-round tie against Dinamo Tbilisi.
The forward earned a move to Scottish giants Celtic, where he would play a part in the side that won the domestic treble in 2019/20.
Bayo would be loaned out to Toulouse in France’s second tier at the start of the 2020/21 campaign, scoring 13 in all competitions as his side finished third in the league and progressed to the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, in which he would contribute four goal involvements.
Having moved to Belgium’s Gent at the start of the 2021/22 season, Bayo made a temporary switch, that became permanent, to Charleroi in December 2021, where he cemented his place leading the line as the Zebras finished sixth.
Following his arrival in Hertfordshire, Bayo scored four goals in 24 Sky Bet Championship appearances for Watford in the first half of 2022/23 - including the winner on the VR100 Matchday against Middlesbrough - before re-joining Charleroi on loan in the January transfer window and going on to net three times in 10 games back in the Jupiler Pro League.
Internationally, Bayo made his debut for Ivory Coast in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Central African Republic in 2018, having earned caps at youth level.
