Ivorian international Yakou Meite made the move from French giants Paris St-Germain in the summer of 2016 to link up with Reading.

Born in Paris, Meite joined PSG at the age of 13 and progressed through the Academy system in the French capital. He reached the final of the UEFA Youth League with the Ligue 1 side, an under-19s competition which mirrors the Champions League at group stage.

Only nine days before that tournament started, Meite had made his professional debut for Laurent Blanc’s side, coming off the bench in a 2-0 win over Guingamp to play a small part in what was a domestic treble-winning season for PSG in 2015-16.

Meite , who was linked with moves to a number of top-flight teams in England in that summer, joined the Royals in July 2016 ahead of the new Championship season.

His first campaign in Berkshire saw him demonstrate glimpses of his explosive attacking ability and he scored his first in blue and white hoops against Derby County in January 2017.

His 2017-18 season was spent back in France, where he was a regular for Sochaux during a loan spell, as they finished 10th in Ligue 2. He returned to the Royals in 2018-19 and scored 13 goals in 40 appearances, notching in numerous vital games to help secure our second-tier status. He also earned his first international cap with the Ivory Coast as they faced Liberia that March.

In 2019-20, just as he was the previous year, Meite was the club’s top scorer with 17 goals - which included a four-goal haul in a 5-0 win at Luton Town.

Despite missing almost half of the 2020-21 season through injury, Yakou’s goal tally hit double figures for the third successive campaign.

A cruciate ligament injury disrupted Meite’s campaign in 2021-22 but he made his comeback against Coventry in January 2022 and was able to win his place back in the side, featuring in important wins against Preston North End, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers.