Watford player agrees transfer deal with European side | OneFootball

Watford player agrees transfer deal with European side | OneFootball

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Football League World

·30 January 2023

Watford player agrees transfer deal with European side

Article image:Watford player agrees transfer deal with European side

Watford striker Vakoun Bayo has exited the club less than a year after arriving at Vicarage Road, with a move back to former side Charleroi confirmed.

The Hornets have decided to move the Ivorian forward on, albeit temporarily for now, after securing a loan move for Benfica youngster Henrique Araujo last week, as well as bringing Britt Assombalonga back to the club following a stint in Turkey.


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Bayo penned a five-year contract in the summer, with the Hertfordshire outfit said to have splashed out £5 million on the 26-year-old’s services following his 11 goals in 16 matches for Charleroi in the Belgian Pro League last season.

He failed to fire though for Watford in the first half of the season, scoring just four times in 24 Championship appearances, with just 10 of those being starts under Rob Edwards and Slaven Bilic.

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Article image:Watford player agrees transfer deal with European side

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Having failed to make the previous two matchday squads, Bayo has now headed back to Belgium in order to seek more regular game-time, with a potential permanent exit from Watford in the summer possible.

The Verdict

Despite his goalscoring record for Charleroi, there were clear doubts about Bayo’s abilities before he even arrived at Vicarage Road.

And he’s now proven not to be the type of forward that Bilic wants or needs in his squad to take the club to the next level and back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The Ivorian was extremely wasteful at times and with stronger options at the club now, it only made sense to move him on.

In a lone-striker system, the Hornets now look well-covered for the remainder of the season, with Bilic hopeful that no more injuries strike his side down in that area of the pitch.

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