Striker Vakoun Bayo has signed for Watford’s sister club Udinese but will be loaned back to the Hornets for the rest of this season.

The two clubs have agreed the transfer for an undisclosed fee, but have also arranged for Bayo to stay at Vicarage Road.

The move has been driven by the striker’s desire to play top-flight football in Europe.

“The player is ambitious and we respect this a lot, so the deal we have done is a good one for all the parties involved,” Sporting Director Gian Luca Nani told the club’s official website.

“Vakoun knows his future lies with Udinese in the longer-term, but now he is fully focused on helping Watford with this important season.

“Tom was aware for some time Vakoun wanted to leave and we have worked very hard to bring in Daniel Jebbison, who is doing his medical now.

“However, once the season started, Tom also decided he would prefer if Vakoun stayed at least this season so we are pleased to confirm this between the player and Udinese.”

Bayo opened his goalscoring account for the season with a superb bicycle last Saturday in the 2-1 win over Derby County.

The former Celtic and Gent player joined Watford from Charleroi in July 2022 for a fee of around £5m.

Since then he has scored 12 goals in 70 appearances for the Hornets, and also spent a brief spell back at Charleroi on loan during the second half of the 2022/23 season.