Keyendrah Simmonds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Keyendrah Simmonds
Personal information
Full name Keyendrah Qwamalik Tegan Simmonds[1]
Date of birth (2001-05-31) 31 May 2001 (age 20)[2]
Place of birth Manchester, England
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Birmingham City
Number 54
Youth career
2009–2021 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Birmingham City 1 (0)
National team
England U15
2018 England U18 5 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:30, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

Keyendrah Qwamalik Tegan Simmonds (born 31 May 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Birmingham City.[3]

He was at Manchester City from the age of eight until February 2021, when he signed for Birmingham.

Club career[]

Manchester City[]

Simmonds was born in 2001 in Manchester, and joined Manchester City at the age of eight;[2] his older brother, Okera, was a member of Liverpool's academy.[4][5] He took up a scholarship with Manchester City in 2017,[6] and in his second year, played and scored regularly for City's under-18 team in the U18 Premier League 2 and appeared twice in the UEFA Youth League.[7] Interviewed in September 2019, he said that Ronaldinho was his childhood idol, that he looked up to and took advice from Raheem Sterling, that he had trained with City's first team,[8] and that his progress had been interrupted by spells of injury.[8][9]

Simmonds made his debut in open-age football for Manchester City U21 in December 2019 in the 2019–20 EFL Trophy away to Shrewsbury Town. He came on as a 68th-minute substitute (association football), missed chances to score the winning goal, and converted his penalty as City won the shootout 6–5.[10] With one year left on his City contract, there was interest from Premier League and Championship clubs in signing Simmonds,[11] but no move took place. He scored a late goal against Lincoln City to confirm City as winners of their group in the 2020–21 EFL Trophy,[12] but came no closer to first-team football.

Birmingham City[]

Simmonds signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Championship club Birmingham City on 1 February 2021.[13] Manager Aitor Karanka said he would initially be a development squad player while training with the first team.[14] He did not appear in the senior matchday squad until 8 May, when new manager Lee Bowyer selected numerous fringe players for the final match of the season, away to Blackburn Rovers.[15] Birmingham lost 5–2, and Simmonds replaced Amari Miller after 78 minutes to make his Football League debut.[16] He scored three goals from nine appearances for the under-23s, helped them finish as runners-up in the Professional Development League Northern Section, and starred in the play-off final, as Birmingham beat Sheffield United U23 to win the overall title and gain promotion to Premier League 2 for 2021–22.[17]

International career[]

Simmonds represented England at under-15 level,[2] and was called up for the under-18s in September 2018 for the Limoges Tournament.[18] He played in all three matches, and scored in the second, a 3–0 win against Russia.[19] He kept his place for two matches against Sweden and the Czech Republic in October.[19][20]

Career statistics[]

As of match played 24 August 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Birmingham City 2020–21[21] Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
2021–22[22] Championship 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Career total 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0

References[]

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Keyendrah Simmonds". Manchester City F.C. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  3. ^ Keyendrah Simmonds at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  4. ^ Williams, Sam (17 March 2017). "Meet the Academy: Okera Simmonds". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. ^ Kelly, Andy (28 November 2017). "Jurgen Klopp watches Liverpool Under-18s battle to Manchester City draw – but who impressed?". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ^ "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/07/2017 and 31/07/2017". The Football Association. p. 59. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Keke Simmonds: Club matches". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b Pellatt, Corey (23 September 2019). "Play Without Limits: Meet the young ballers tipped for takeover at Manchester City". Versus. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Young Blues stunned by Boro comeback". Manchester City F.C. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2021. The clash marked a welcome return to action for Keke Simmonds, who had been sidelined with injury and was introduced from the bench in the second period.
  10. ^ Cox, Lewis (3 December 2019). "EFL Trophy: Shrewsbury Town 1 Man City U21s 1 (5–6 pens)". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  11. ^ Crann, Joe (1 August 2020). "Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United to battle it out for Manchester City youngster Keyendrah Simmonds?". The Star. Sheffield. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  12. ^ Bray, Joe (18 November 2020). "Man City have two more exciting defensive midfielders coming through the ranks". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Keyendrah Simmonds and Yan Valery: Birmingham City sign duo". BBC Sport. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  14. ^ Dick, Brian (11 February 2021). "'Massive' - Ex-Man City teen impressing with Birmingham City first team squad". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  15. ^ Dick, Brian (8 May 2021). "Manchester City product given first Birmingham City call-up against Blackburn Rovers". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  16. ^ Dick, Brian (8 May 2021). "Birmingham City player ratings vs Blackburn: Blues struggle in Bowyer's absence". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  17. ^ Dick, Brian (25 May 2021). "'Snake hips' – The Man City product who could save Birmingham City millions". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  18. ^ "England U18s squad named for Limoges Tournament in France". The Football Association (The FA). 31 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Keke Simmonds: U18 friendlies 2018". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  20. ^ "England U18s squad named to face Sweden and Czech Republic at St. George's Park". The FA. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Games played by Keyendrah Simmonds in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Games played by Keyendrah Simmonds in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
Retrieved from ""