Bayo is the 6ft2 ‘king’ who matched Giroud record and lives with his mother

Mohamed Bayo could be a name that Premier League fans need to get used to hearing.

The Guinea international is very much a man in demand, with Everton, West Ham and Tottenham all keen on the striker.

Bayo was born in France and joined his current club Clermont when he was just six.

He’s been with the side for 18 years and has progressed through the youth ranks and the leagues with his beloved team.

Because he still plays for his hometown side, the 6ft 2 forward still lives with his mother!

That’s perhaps slightly strange for a 24-year-old footballer, but they do say there’s no place like home…

His first senior season with Clermont was nothing much to write about – he made five appearances in the 2018/19 campaign and failed to score a goal.

But then came a loan move to the third tier of French football with USL Dunkerque and a change in fortunes.

Here he got first-team football and the chance to play as a striker.

He managed 16 goals in 36 games and perhaps made a few people at Clermont sit up and take notice as they handed him an opportunity in Ligue 2 the following campaign.

There’s quite a difference from the third tier of French football to Ligue 2, but the Guinean was even better in a tougher division.

He rattled home 22 goals and helped Clermont into Ligue 1, and it was here that he was identified as the next possible Ligue 2 bargain and follow in the footsteps of N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez.

But no English club or other European team decided that he was worth a punt at that time and Clermont kept their forward.

Again, Ligue 1 could have proved to have been a challenge for Bayo, but before the Arica Cup of Nations, he scored nine goals in 18 matches.

But he did reveal some quite surprising views on being a striker in an interview last December: “I’m happy, but it’s not easy being a striker!

“Everyone takes potshots at you, but when you score, you are the king.

“Every week you have to challenge yourself. Every week, you have to fight again. If you get a chance, if you miss it, you must not allow doubt to creep in… It’s not an easy job.”

Despite this, his form attracted admiring glances from West Ham, who were searching for a new forward but decided against it and now face competition for his signature.

At the AFCON, Bayo had a rough time, failing to score and struggled when he returned to Clermont before ending the year with four in his last five.

The forward finished the 2021/22 campaign with more league goals than Raheem Sterling and the same as Wilfried Zaha, so you can see why top-flight clubs are keen.

In the process, he also became the first striker since Olivier Giroud to score 22 goals in Ligue 2 and then at least 12 the following year.

Now, if the rest of his career follows Giroud’s, he will end up being very successful.

Judging by his comments earlier this year, he will be on the move this summer: “I want to progress. I think I have to take a step (forward). 

“For now, I’m here and we’ll see. In any case, it is logical, after my season, that I want to see if there is a better project (elsewhere).”

Bayo is a player who has risen from the bottom and consistently improved every year and looks like he knows where the net is.

Certainly, he is physically capable of playing in England’s premier division, so it would be a surprise if we don’t see his name in the top-flight next year.

Premier League defenders have been warned.