Kyle Thomas Vassell (born 7 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for San Diego Loyal SC. Born in England, he represents the Northern Ireland national team.
![]() Vassell playing for Rotherham United in 2018 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Kyle Thomas Vassell[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 29)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Milton Keynes, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | San Diego Loyal | ||
Number | 9 | ||
Youth career | |||
0000–2007 | Norwich City | ||
2007–2010 | Brentford | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2010–2011 | Brentford | 0 | (0) |
2010 | → Woking (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2011 | → St Albans City (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2011 | Dover Athletic | 2 | (0) |
2011–2012 | Sutton United | 26 | (4) |
2011 | → Tooting & Mitcham United (dual-reg) | 2 | (0) |
2011–2012 | → Whitehawk (dual-reg) | 6 | (2) |
2012 | → Staines Town (loan) | 7 | (2) |
2012–2013 | Chelmsford City | 23 | (5) |
2013 | Bishop's Stortford | 12 | (6) |
2013–2016 | Peterborough United | 28 | (5) |
2015 | → Oxford United (loan) | 6 | (1) |
2015–2016 | → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 8 | (0) |
2016 | → Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 13 | (0) |
2016–2018 | Blackpool | 63 | (22) |
2018–2021 | Rotherham United | 55 | (4) |
2021 | → Fleetwood Town (loan) | 26 | (4) |
2021–2022 | Cheltenham Town | 16 | (2) |
2022– | San Diego Loyal | 29 | (14) |
National team‡ | |||
2018– | Northern Ireland | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:08, 22 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:36, 15 October 2018 (UTC) |
He began his career as a youth at Norwich City and Brentford, before embarking on a nomadic period in non-League football. He made his Football League debut for Peterborough United in 2013. He is a distant relative of Darius and Isaac Vassell.[3][4]
Vassell began his career as a schoolboy at Norwich City and joined Brentford at age 15 after having difficulty with commuting from his London home to Norfolk.[5] He later acknowledged that at the time he found the change of clubs difficult to comprehend.[6] He failed to feature in the first team while at Brentford and spent work experience loan spells at Conference South sides Woking[7] and St Albans City during the 2010–11 season. He was released by Brentford in June 2011[8] after he completed his two-year scholarship[9] and later felt that he had given away his opportunity at being a professional footballer.[10]
Following interest from Gillingham and Burton Albion[9] and an unsuccessful trial with League Two side Crewe Alexandra, Vassell signed non-contract terms with Conference South side Dover Athletic in October 2011,[11] linking up with former Brentford manager and player Nicky Forster.[8] He scored on his debut against in a 6–3 Kent Senior Cup win over Maidstone United on 12 October.[12][13] He made three further appearances before leaving the club.[citation needed]
Vassell signed non-contract terms with Conference South side Sutton United on 30 November 2011[14] and scored on his debut in a 1–0 Surrey Senior Cup 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.[15] In December 2011 and January 2012, Vassell had dual-registration spells with Isthmian League Premier Division side Tooting & Mitcham United[16] and Isthmian League Division One South side Whitehawk respectively.[17] He signed for Conference South side Staines Town on loan on 21 March 2012.[14] 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 season before leaving the club in November 2012.[citation needed]
Vassell signed for Conference South side Chelmsford City on 6 December 2012.[14][18] 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. He finished the season having made 25 appearances and scored seven goals, despite being utilised predominantly in a wide midfield role.[citation needed]
Vassell signed for Chelmsford City's neighbours and divisional rivals Bishop's Stortford on 30 June 2013.[14][19] He scored a hattrick in his first competitive game for the club, a 6–1 Herts Charity Cup win over Ware on 1 August.[20] 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[21] in a 5–0 FA Cup second qualifying round win over Hendon on 29 September, which saw him receive an FA Cup Player Of The Round nomination.[22] Another hattrick followed for Vassell in the FA Cup third qualifying round in a 6–1 victory over Chipstead.[23] Vassell's run of 16 goals in 16 games saw him hailed as "the new Dwight Gayle"[24] (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.[25] Vassell was the subject of national attention[5][10] when Bishop's Stortford's FA Cup first round tie with League Two side Northampton Town was chosen to be screened by ITV.[26] Vassell started the match on 10 November, but suffered a dead leg[25] early in the second half and was substituted as Northampton ran out 2–1 winners.[27] It was his last appearance for the club.[citation needed]
After his goalscoring exploits for Bishop's Stortford led to interest from Football League clubs, Vassell signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with League One side Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee on 11 November 2013.[25] 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.[28] He was replaced by Shaun Jeffers after 71 minutes. Vassell was an unused substitute for a 3–2 league defeat to former club Brentford on 26 November[citation needed] and his third Posh appearance came in the return fixture on 1 January 2014.[29] 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.[30]
Vassell later spent time on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge, before joining Shrewsbury Town on loan for the rest of the season in January 2016.[31]
He was released by Peterborough at the end of his contract in May 2016.[32]
On 16 June 2016 it was confirmed Vassell had signed a one-year contract to play for League Two side Blackpool.[33] On 6 August 2016 he scored on his League debut for Blackpool, against Exeter City.[34]
In July 2018, Vassell signed a three-year deal with Championship side Rotherham United.[35] 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.[36] On 15 January 2021, Vassell joined League One side Fleetwood Town on loan for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.[37] On 17 May 2021, Rotherham United published their retained list, and confirmed Vassell would be leaving the club at the end of his contract.[38]
On 9 August 2021, Vassell signed a 1 year contract with League Two Champions, Cheltenham Town for their League One campaign. On 6 January 2022, Vassell left the club midway through his contract.[39]
Vassell moved overseas for the first time in his career on 17 January 2022, signing with USL Championship club San Diego Loyal SC.[40]
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.[41][4][42]
Club | Season | League | National Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Brentford | 2010–11[43] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Woking (loan) | 2010–11[43] | Conference South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
St Albans City (loan) | 2010–11[43] | Conference South | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Dover Athletic | 2011–12[43] | Conference South | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
Sutton United | 2011–12[43] | Conference South | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 5 | 15 | 7 | |
2012–13[43] | Conference South | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 17 | 3 | ||
Total | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 6 | 32 | 10 | |||
Tooting & Mitcham United (dual-reg) | 2011–12[44] | IL Premier Division | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Whitehawk (dual-reg) | 2011–12[44] | IL Division One South | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | |||
Staines Town (loan) | 2011–12[43] | Conference South | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
Chelmsford City | 2012–13[43] | Conference South | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 25 | 6 | |
Bishop's Stortford | 2013–14[43] | Conference South | 12 | 6 | 4 | 7 | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 13 | |
Peterborough United | 2013–14[45] | League One | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 6] | 1 | 8 | 1 |
2014–15[46] | League One | 17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 21 | 5 | |
2015–16[47] | League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
Total | 28 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 6 | ||
Oxford United (loan) | 2014–15[46] | League Two | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 2015–16[47] | League Two | 8 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 2015–16[47] | League One | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
Blackpool | 2016–17[48] | League Two | 34 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 7] | 2 | 42 | 13 |
2017–18[49] | League One | 29 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 11 | |
Total | 63 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 71 | 24 | ||
Rotherham United | 2018–19[50] | Championship | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |
2019–20[51] | League One | 20 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6 | |
2020–21[52] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
Total | 55 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 6 | ||
Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2020–21[52] | League One | 26 | 4 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | ||
Cheltenham Town | 2021–22[53] | League One | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2[lower-alpha 8] | 0 | 22 | 4 |
San Diego Loyal SC | 2022 | USL Championship | 29 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 14 | ||
Career total | 325 | 71 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 11 | 374 | 96 |
Blackpool
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San Diego Loyal SC – current squad | |
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