Amadou Bakayoko says the prospect of more minutes on the pitch was too good to turn down after leaving Wanderers for Forest Green.

Bakayoko, who grew up in the Midlands, has put pen to paper over a two-year deal with last season’s League Two champions.

The Sierra Leone international made a total of 67 appearances for Bolton and scored 17 goals after moving from Coventry City in the summer of 2021.

However, he fell down the pecking order this season and despite making 28 appearances in all competitions, only five starts have been in League One.

“I’m delighted to get it all sorted,” he said. “I’ve known about it for a little bit now but coming towards the middle of January, I started thinking about playing (time) and it wasn’t really happening where I was.

“Seeing the situation that is happening here, I want to help out the club as much as possible and hopefully get the best out of myself.”

The forward was Wanderers’ second top-scorer last season, becoming only the third player behind Eoin Doyle and Dapo Afolayan to register more than a dozen goals in a single season for the past 20 years.

When asked about his prolific form during the second half of last term, he added: “Coming off the back of a few injuries, to come back and score that many goals in the second half of the season, I was delighted I could do it.

“I always knew I had it in me but it came from having the trust from the manager, that really helped. Hopefully, I can continue that here.”

Bakayoko could return with his new club on January 24 when the two sides meet at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Forest Green currently sit bottom of the table, having won just five league matches since the start of the campaign.

Ian Burchnall’s side are back in league action on Saturday afternoon when they head to 11th-place Exeter City.

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