Amadou Bakayoko speaks out after first Sierra Leone call-up at Bolton Wanderers

Amadou Bakayoko has enjoyed an excellent first season at Bolton Wanderers after leaving Coventry City in the summer.

The 26-year-old has had his ups and downs with injury but has come up with some valuable contributions in the final third.

Bakayoko has been called up to the Sierra Leone squad for an international friendly against Togo on 24th March, it will be interesting to see how the mobile forward performs on the international stage.

Sierra Leone earned very respectable draws with Algeria and Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations but unfortunately finished bottom of their group following a 1-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in the final game of the group stage.

Bakayoko explained his decision to accept the call-up from Sierra Leone when he spoke to The Bolton News.

He said: “I have had international call-ups a couple of times but I have turned them down because I didn’t feel ready.

“But I feel right now, the place I am at, the age I am at, this is a good time to go and get the best out of myself.

“I could have played for two or three different countries but I wasn’t playing regularly for my club at the time so I didn’t feel I was ready to step up to international level when I couldn’t get into the team at club level.

“It was a tough decision.

“Family is important to me and it’s something I always need to communicate with them.

“At the time my brother or my dad or my mum weren’t feeling it was right and neither did I, but this time around I think I’m at a good stage, a good age and I feel like I can hopefully bring a lot out of the international just as much as club.”

There is a lot of competitions for places at The UniBol, particularly since the January transfer window, but Bakayoko’s importance to Ian Evatt has