Lille have beaten Premier League giants Everton and Tottenham Hotspur to the signing of Mohamed Bayo from Ligue 1 rivals Clermont in a £12 million deal, as reported by Les Dogues’ official website.
Likened to Romelu Lukaku and inspired by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Bayo has certainly earned his big break.
It was he who fired Clermont into the top flight of French football for the first time in their history, winning the Golden Boot along the way, before adapting like the proverbial duck to water alongside the PSGs, Lyons and Monacos of the world.
Not content with taking Clermont into Ligue 1, Bayo then kept them there, marking his debut Ligue 1 season with an impressive 14 goals.
According to FootMercato, the Guyana international caught the eye of – to name but a few – Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Valencia and Eintracht Frankfurt. But he will be following in the footsteps of Eden Hazard, Jonathan David and co instead, signing a four-year deal with a Lille side who snatched the title from under Paris Saint-Germain’s nose in 2020/21.
Lille sign Clermont striker Mohamed Bayo for £12 million
“We welcome Mohamed to LOSC with great pleasure and satisfaction,” says Lille’s CEO and chairman Olivier Letang.
“The pleasure of seeing a successful striker join us, endowed with a complete profile and already experienced in Ligue 1. And the satisfaction of having attracted to the club and convinced a highly-coveted player who also clearly expressed, on his side, the motivation and desire to join LOSC.
“Like our other recruits, even beyond his talent, Mohamed seduced us with his character.”
Clermont turned down a £7 million bid from West Ham United in the recent past. A decision which looks rather inspired these days, now that Lille have stumped up almost twice that fee.
“It’s a unique feeling for me to have signed for LOSC; A very big club, a football institution,” Bayo adds. I am very happy and proud to have been chosen by the leaders of Lille.
“I will give everything to try to help the club achieve its goals. The Domaine de Luchin (training ground) is a magnificent place. There is no better place to work and progress.”
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