Vakoun Issouf Bayo
Udinese

Vakoun Issouf Bayo

Vakoun Issouf Bayo of Udinese was born in Daloa, Ivory Coast on 10 January 1997 (age 29).

Vakoun Issouf Bayo
Vakoun Issouf Bayo · Photo: Vagelis Georgariou

Vakoun Issouf Bayo, born in Daloa on 10 January 1997 (age 29), is an Ivory Coast striker now with Udinese. His best early spell came at DAC Dunajská Streda, where his 10 league goals in 16 appearances in 2018–19 put him on Celtic’s radar.

Celtic signed him from DAC in January 2019 for around £2m. It looked a sensible punt: a forward with size, movement and a recent scoring run in Slovakia. It did not quite take. Bayo’s Celtic spell never settled into anything sustained, and by July 2021 he had left for Gent in a deal worth around £1.5m.

The years after Celtic were more productive in shape, if not always straightforward. He moved through Gent, Charleroi and Udinese, then established himself more fully at Watford before returning to the Udinese picture. His current market value is around £3.5m, according to Transfermarkt.

In 2025–26, Bayo has made 15 Serie A appearances for Udinese without scoring. He remains a striker with a varied career across several leagues, with Celtic sitting as the high-profile move that arrived early but never really caught fire.

📈 Key stats and insights

Vakoun Issouf Bayo made 15 Serie A appearances for Udinese in 2025-26
Vakoun Issouf Bayo started four league matches and came off the bench 11 times
Vakoun Issouf Bayo did not score in 15 Serie A appearances
Vakoun Issouf Bayo scored 10 goals in the listed 2024-25 season
Vakoun Issouf Bayo's market value is €4.00m
Last updated 31 May 2026. Send feedback

Vakoun Issouf Bayo stats

Check out all of the statistics about Vakoun Issouf Bayo.

Striker
Primary Position
Forward
Position
Vakoun Issouf Bayo
ST
1.84m (6ft)
Height
15
Squad Number
82kg (12st 12lb)
Weight
10 January 1997 (age 29)
Date of Birth
Daloa
Birthplace
Ivory Coast 🇨🇮
Country of Birth
Udinese
Team
Ivory Coast U23
National Team
£3.5m (via Transfermarkt)
Market Value
30 June 2028 (2y 1m)
Contract Expires

📊 Season stats

Team
Udinese
Udinese
Serie A 2025 - 2026
Games
15
Starting
4
Substitute
11
Unused
23
Utilisation
39%
Goals
-
Yellows
-
Reds
-

Vakoun Issouf Bayo's 2025-26 Serie A season at Udinese was peripheral. He made 15 appearances but only four starts, with 11 outings from the bench and no goals, which points to a squad striker role rather than a settled first-choice No 9.

📋 Career stats

Team
Udinese
Udinese
Season 2025 - 2026
Country
Italy 🇮🇹
Games
15
Goals
-
Team
Watford
Watford
Season 2024 - 2025
Country
England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Games
41
Goals
10
Team
Watford
Watford
Season 2023 - 2024
Country
England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Games
39
Goals
6
Team
Charleroi
Charleroi
Season 2022 - 2023
Country
Belgium 🇧🇪
Games
10
Goals
3
Team
Watford
Watford
Season 2022 - 2023
Country
England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Games
24
Goals
4
Team
Charleroi
Charleroi
Season 2021 - 2022
Country
Belgium 🇧🇪
Games
12
Goals
7
Team
Gent
Gent
Season 2021 - 2022
Country
Belgium 🇧🇪
Games
3
Goals
-
Team
Toulouse
Toulouse
Season 2020 - 2021
Country
France 🇫🇷
Games
30
Goals
10
Team
Celtic
Celtic
Season 2019 - 2020
Country
Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Games
8
Goals
2
Team
Celtic
Celtic
Season 2018 - 2019
Country
Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Games
1
Goals
-
Team
DAC Dunajská Streda
DAC Dunajská Streda
Season 2018 - 2019
Country
Slovakia 🇸🇰
Games
16
Goals
10
Team
DAC Dunajská Streda
DAC Dunajská Streda
Season 2017 - 2018
Country
Slovakia 🇸🇰
Games
9
Goals
4
Team
Étoile du Sahel
Étoile du Sahel
Season 2016 - 2017
Country
Tunisia 🇹🇳
Games
9
Goals
-
Team
Étoile du Sahel
Étoile du Sahel
Season 2015 - 2016
Country
Tunisia 🇹🇳
Games
2
Goals
-

Bayo's recent career pattern was mobile and uneven. His listed returns included 10 goals in 2020-21, seven in 2021-22, split 2022-23 returns of four and three, six in 2023-24 and 10 in 2024-25, before a goalless Serie A season with Udinese. The record suggests he remained capable of productive spells, but that did not carry into his latest league season.

💰 Transfers

Team
Udinese
Udinese
1 June 2025
From
Watford
Watford
Type
Returned from loan
Team
Watford
Watford
30 August 2024
From
Udinese
Udinese
Type
Loan
Team
Udinese
Udinese
29 August 2024
From
Watford
Watford
Type
Undisclosed
Team
Watford
Watford
1 June 2023
From
Charleroi
Charleroi
Type
Returned from loan
Team
Charleroi
Charleroi
30 January 2023
From
Watford
Watford
Type
Loan
Team
Watford
Watford
2 July 2022
From
Charleroi
Charleroi
Type
Fee (£5m)
Team
Charleroi
Charleroi
1 July 2022
From
Gent
Gent
Type
Fee (£1.4m)
Team
Charleroi
Charleroi
1 January 2022
From
Gent
Gent
Type
Loan
Team
Gent
Gent
9 July 2021
From
Celtic
Celtic
Type
Fee (£1.4m)
Team
Toulouse
Toulouse
12 August 2020
From
Celtic
Celtic
Type
Loan
Team
Celtic
Celtic
8 January 2019
From
DAC Dunajská Streda
DAC Dunajská Streda
Type
Fee (£2m)
Team
DAC Dunajská Streda
DAC Dunajská Streda
13 March 2018
From
Étoile du Sahel
Étoile du Sahel
Type
Free Transfer
Team
Étoile du Sahel
Étoile du Sahel
12 September 2015
From
Stade d'Abidjan
Stade d'Abidjan
Type
Fee (£180k)
Team
Stade d'Abidjan
Stade d'Abidjan
1 July 2014
Type
Trainee

Bayo's recent transfer history was dominated by Watford, Charleroi and Udinese. Watford loaned him to Charleroi in January 2023 and brought him back that June, then an undisclosed move from Watford to Udinese in August 2024 was followed immediately by a loan back to Watford. His June 2025 return to Udinese left him at a higher league level, but his usage there was limited.

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