Kyle Thomas Vassell (born 7 February 1993) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for Scottish Premiership side

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. Born in England, he represents the

Northern Ireland national team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1920, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Foo ...

. He began his career as a youth at Norwich City and

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, before embarking on a nomadic period in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

. He made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut for Peterborough United in 2013 and thereafter notably played for

Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, th ...

and Rotherham United. He is a distant relative of

Darius Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...

and

Isaac Vassell Isaac Cleveland Vassell (born 9 September 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for National League South team Bath City. He previously played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Plymouth Argyle, Luton Town and ...

Club career

Early years

Vassell began his career as a schoolboy at Norwich City and joined

at age 15 after having difficulty with commuting from his London home to Norfolk. He later acknowledged that at the time he found the change of clubs difficult to comprehend. He failed to feature in the first team while at Brentford and spent work experience loan spells at

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

sides

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

and St Albans City during the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. He was released by Brentford in June 2011 after he completed his two-year scholarship
/ref> and later felt that he had given away his opportunity at being a professional footballer.

Dover Athletic

Following interest from Gillingham F.C., Gillingham and Burton Albion and an unsuccessful trial with

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Crewe Alexandra, Vassell signed non-contract terms with Conference South side

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

in October 2011, linking up with former Brentford manager and player

Nicky Forster Nicholas Michael Forster (born 8 September 1973) is a former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of Staines Town. Forster has also been player-manager at Brentford and manager of Dover Athletic. Football career Early y ...

. He scored on his debut against in a 6–3 Kent Senior Cup win over

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

on 12 October. He made three further appearances before leaving the club.

Sutton United, dual-registrations and loan

Vassell signed non-contract terms with Conference South side Sutton United on 30 November 2011 and scored on his debut in a 1–0

Surrey Senior Cup The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...

win over Epsom & Ewell on 6 December. Vassell bagged four goals in a 6–0 Surrey Senior Cup win over Godalming Town on 17 January 2012. In December 2011 and January 2012, Vassell had dual-registration spells with Isthmian League Premier Division side

Tooting & Mitcham United Tooting & Mitcham United Football Club is an association football club based in the London Borough of Merton. They are currently members of the and play at Imperial Fields in Morden. Their nickname is "the Terrors" or "the Stripes". History ...

and

Isthmian League Division One South The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...

side Whitehawk respectively. He signed for Conference South side

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C.'',''Staines Albany F ...

on loan on 21 March 2012. During the 2011–12 season, he made fifteen Sutton appearances, scored seven goals and helped the club into the Conference South playoffs, where they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Welling United. Vassell made 17 appearances and scored three goals for Sutton during the early months of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season before leaving the club in November 2012.

Chelmsford City

Vassell signed for Conference South side Chelmsford City on 6 December 2012. He scored his first goal for the club on his second appearance in a 2–1 league victory over Boreham Wood on 29 December. From early January 2013 to early February, he was in fine form and bagged five goals in five games. He helped secure a fifth-place finish for Chelmsford, but he suffered playoff heartbreak for the second season running as Chelmsford were beaten in the semi-finals by the eventual promoted team

Salisbury City Salisbury City Football Club was an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They were formed in 1947 and played at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium. Salisbury had gained back-to-back promotions in recent years, first to the Conference S ...

. He finished the season having made 25 appearances and scored seven goals, despite being utilised predominantly in a wide midfield role.

Bishop's Stortford

Vassell signed for Chelmsford City's neighbours and divisional rivals

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

on 30 June 2013. He scored a hattrick in his first competitive game for the club, a 6–1

Herts Charity Cup The Herts Charity Cup, officially titled the Hertfordshire Football Association Charity Cup, was begun in the 1900-01 season as a fund raising competition for the chosen charities of the Hertfordshire County Football Association. It is second o ...

win over

Ware Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada *Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom *Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire *Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County, Al ...

on 1 August. Vassell scored his first league goal for Bishop's Stortford in a 2–2 draw with Boreham Wood on 19 August. Vassell bagged four goals in 17 minutes in a 5–0 FA Cup second qualifying round win over

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

on 29 September, which saw him receive an FA Cup Player Of The Round nomination. Another hattrick followed for Vassell in the FA Cup third qualifying round in a 6–1 victory over Chipstead. Vassell's run of 16 goals in 16 games saw him hailed as "the new

Dwight Gayle Dwight Devon Boyd Gayle (born 17 October 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Stoke City. Gayle played in the Arsenal academy as a youth, but was released in 2007, after which he began hi ...

" (after Gayle secured a move to League One with Peterborough United and subsequently Premier League side Crystal Palace the previous year on the back of a prolific goalscoring spell for Bishop's Stortford), though Vassell dismissed the comparison. Vassell was the subject of national attention when Bishop's Stortford's FA Cup first round tie with League Two side Northampton Town was chosen to be screened by

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. Vassell started the match on 10 November, but suffered a

dead leg A charley horse is a painful involuntary cramp in the legs and/or foot, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a day. The term formerly referred more commonly to bruising of the quadriceps muscle of the anterior or lateral thigh, or contusion of ...

early in the second half and was substituted as Northampton ran out 2–1 winners. It was his last appearance for the club.

Peterborough United

After his goalscoring exploits for Bishop's Stortford led to interest from

clubs, Vassell signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with League One side Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee on 11 November 2013. Vassell made his Peterborough debut (his first appearance in the Football League) on 24 November, starting in a 1–0 home league defeat to

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

. He was replaced by

Shaun Jeffers Shaun Elliot Jeffers (born 14 April 1992) is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a forward for National League South club St Albans City. Club career Coventry City Jeffers made his professional debut, for Coventry City, ...

after 71 minutes. Vassell was an unused substitute for a 3–2 league defeat to former club Brentford on 26 November and his third Posh appearance came in the return fixture on 1 January 2014. He replaced Mark Little after 76 minutes of the 3–1 defeat. Vassell scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 Football League Trophy Southern Area Final first leg draw at home to Swindon Town on 5 February. Vassell later spent time on loan at

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

, before joining Shrewsbury Town on loan for the rest of the season in January 2016. He was released by Peterborough at the end of his contract in May 2016.

Blackpool

On 16 June 2016 it was confirmed Vassell had signed a one-year contract to play for

side Blackpool. On 6 August 2016 he scored on his League debut for Blackpool, against Exeter City.

Rotherham United

In July 2018, Vassell signed a three-year deal with Championship side Rotherham United. His first league goal for the club came over a year later; an acrobatic strike against Peterborough United in the League One game on 29 December 2019. On 15 January 2021, Vassell joined League One side

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. On 17 May 2021, Rotherham United published their retained list, and confirmed Vassell would be leaving the club at the end of his contract.

Cheltenham Town

On 9 August 2021, Vassell signed a one-year contract with League Two Champions,

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

for their League One campaign. On 6 January 2022, Vassell left the club midway through his contract.

San Diego Loyal

Vassell moved overseas for the first time in his career on 17 January 2022, signing with USL Championship club

San Diego Loyal SC San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. ...

. He was released by San Diego following the 2022 season.

Kilmarnock

On 1 January 2023, Vassell signed with Scottish Premiership club

on a deal until the end of the season. On 19th April 2023 vassell signed a 2 year extension keeping him at the club till the summer of 2025.

International career

In October 2018, Kyle Vassell was called up to the Northern Ireland squad for the first time, for their Nations League matches away to Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Qualifying for Northern Ireland as his grandfather was from County Fermanagh, on his call up, Vassell said: "I'm over the moon, it has been a while coming, I'm grateful that my opportunity has come and it's my first ever call-up, so I'm really excited." On 12 October he made his debut against Austria, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute.

Career statistics

Honours

Blackpool * EFL League Two play-offs:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vassell, Kyle 1993 births Living people Footballers from Milton Keynes Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's international footballers English men's footballers English people of Northern Ireland descent Men's association football forwards Black British sportsmen Brentford F.C. players Woking F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Tooting & Mitcham United F.C. players Whitehawk F.C. players Staines Town F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players San Diego Loyal SC players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Kilmarnock F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in the United States Expatriate men's association footballers from Northern Ireland