Amadou Bakayoko (born 1 January 1996) is a Sierra Leonean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

club Dundee, on loan from club

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

, and the Sierra Leone national team.

Club career

Bakayoko was born in Sierra Leone but lived in Guinea until the age of six, before moving to

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where he lived until he was 10. After moving to England, he began playing in Birmingham before winning a scholarship at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

. After prolific goalscoring at youth and reserve team level, Bakayoko was offered a one-year professional contract at Walsall in December 2013. He made his debut for the "Saddlers" on 5 April, replacing Michael Ngoo 68 minutes into a 1–0 defeat to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

. On 9 October 2014, Bakayoko joined

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...

side

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

on a month's loan. He made a scoring debut as a substitute in Southport's 2–0 victory over Braintree Town. Bakayoko scored his second goal for Southport in a 3–2 victory over

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...

on 22 November 2014. Bakayoko joined

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

on a one–month loan deal on 15 January 2016 and scored three league goals in the

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

for the club. He scored his first goals for Walsall when he scored a hat-trick in an EFL Trophy tie against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

on 30 August 2016. He scored his first league goal in a 3–2 win over

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

on 15 October 2016, though he was later sent off in the same match. His contract was extended by Walsall at the end of the 2017–18 season after the club exercised an option. On 7 August 2018, Bakayoko joined

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year deal. On 12 May 2021, it was announced that he would leave Coventry at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract. On 25 June 2021, Bakayoko joined

side Bolton Wanderers on a two-year deal. His competitive debut came on 7 August in a 3–3 draw against

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

, with him scoring on his debut to put Bolton 2–1 up. On 12 January 2023, Bakayoko joined fellow

club

on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee. On 27 July 2023, Bakayoko joined

club Dundee on a season-long loan from Rovers. He made his debut for the ''Dark Blues'' as a substitute in a

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

group stage win over

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional ...

. While a potential first goal against St Johnstone was given to teammate Scott Tiffoney instead, Bakayoko's first undisputed goal came in a league game at home to Kilmarnock.

International career

On 17 March 2022, Bakayoko was called up for the Sierra Leone national team for the first time in his career.BWFC: "Baka Gets International Call"
/ref> He was also eligible for the Guinea national team. He made his debut for Sierra Leone on 23 March 2022, as the side lost 3–0 to

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

in an international friendly. He scored his first goal for them five days later, as he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Liberia.The Bolton News: "Sierra Leone coach's reaction to Bolton Wanderers' Amadou Bakayoko's first goal"
/ref>

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Sierra Leone's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakayoko, Amadou Living people 1996 births People from Kenema Sierra Leonean men's footballers Sierra Leone men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Walsall F.C. players Southport F.C. players AFC Telford United players English Football League players National League (English football) players Worcester City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Sierra Leonean expatriate men's footballers Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Scottish Professional Football League players Dundee F.C. players