Panayiotou was born in Leicester, to a Greek Cypriot father, Andreas, who was involved in youth football, and a Kittian mother. He started his career at the youth academy of local club Leicester City, alongside subsequent first-team teammates Andy King, Jeffrey Schlupp, Liam Moore, Tom Parkes and Cian Bolger. His performances for the under-18 side earned him the Fans' Academy Player of the Year award for the 2011–12 season. He was part of the youth squad which won the HKFC Soccer Sevens cup in May 2013, where he scored five goals, including one in the 2–0 win over Newcastle United in the final; he was subsequently named Player of the Tournament. After impressing in games for Leicester City Under-21 he was named as the under-21 Premier League Player of the Month for March. On 18 May 2015, Panayiotou was named Leicester City Under-21 Player of the Year, reward for an impressive season including scoring 11 goals in his last 13 games. He made his senior debut for the "Foxes" against Leeds United on the final day of the 2011–12 season at Elland Road; he replaced Lloyd Dyer in the 73rd minute and scored the winning goal in added time. He signed his first professional contract in September 2012, and in July 2014 he extended it by a further two years. On 20 October 2014, Panayioutou joined League One side Port Vale on a one-month loan. However, he did not make a first team appearance for the "Valiants" during his time at Vale Park. On 29 January 2016, Panayiotou joined Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers on a loan until the end of the 2015–16 season. He made his league debut for Raith against Rangers on 2 February, coming on as a second-half substitute. He scored his first goal for Rovers in a 3–3 draw against with Rangers on 2 April. His next goal came in the Scottish Championship semi-final first leg play-off against Hibernian at Stark's Park on 4 May 2016; Rovers went on to lose 2–0 in the return leg three days later. He was released by Leicester City at the end of the 2015–16 season.
Barrow
Panayiotou cut short a trial at Borussia Dortmund's under-23 team to sign a two-year contract with National League side Barrow in September 2016; "Bluebirds" manager Paul Cox said that "he had offers from Yeovil and Coventry and even from Salt Lake City in America, but he wanted to play here for us". He made his debut for Barrow in an FA Trophy replay against Harrogate Town on 13 December 2016. On 23 March 2017, he joined National League North side Salford City on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season. He played three games for the "Ammies". Back with Barrow for the 2017–18 season he chose to turn down his country so as to help Adrian Pennock's side battle against relegation. The battle proved successful as Barrow finished one place and one point above the relegation zone.
Nuneaton Borough
On 25 June 2018, Panayiotou signed with National League North side Nuneaton Borough in a move that reunited him with former Leicester City youth coach Nicky Eaden. He made 20 appearances for "Boro" in the first half of the 2018–19 season, before he departed Liberty Way on 23 January 2019.
Aittitos Spata
In January 2019, Panayiotou signed for Greek Football League side Aittitos Spata. The "Invincible" were relegated at the end of the 2018–19 season after being expelled for financial problems.
Aldershot Town
On 12 July 2019, Panayiotou joined National League side Aldershot Town after a successful trial spell. He scored four goals in 30 appearances for the "Shots" in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with Aldershot in 16th-place.
International career
On 8 October 2014, Panayiotou scored on his debut for Saint Kitts and Nevis in their Caribbean Cup qualifying defeat to Barbados at Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. On 26 March 2015, he scored a hat-trick beginning with a penalty in the second leg of a World Cup first qualifying round tie against the Turks and Caicos Islands at the TCIFA National Academy in Providenciales; Saint Kitts and Nevis won the match 6–2 for a 12–4 aggregate victory. On 26 March 2016, he scored in a 2–0 win over Aruba which secured passage into the Second Round of qualification for the 2017 Caribbean Cup. This also meant he broke an 85-year Leicester City club record previously held by England's Ernie Hine – the Foxes' all-time leading goalscorer at international level.
