Keyendrah Simmonds
Personal information
Full name Keyendrah Qwamalik Tegan Simmonds[1]
Date of birth (2001-05-31) 31 May 2001[2]
Place of birth Manchester, England
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2009–2021 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Birmingham City 1 (0)
2022–2023 → Grimsby Town (loan) 8 (0)
International career
England U15
2018 England U18 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:26, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Keyendrah Qwamalik Tegan Simmonds (born 31 May 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Simmonds was at Manchester City from the age of eight until February 2021, when he signed for Birmingham City. He spent the first half of the 2022–23 season on loan at League Two club Grimsby Town, and was released by Birmingham at the end of that season.

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.[3][4] He took up a scholarship with Manchester City in 2017,[5] 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.[6] 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,[7] and that his progress had been interrupted by spells of injury.[7][8]

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.[9] With one year left on his City contract, there was interest from Premier League and Championship clubs in signing Simmonds,[10] 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,[11] 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.[12] Manager Aitor Karanka said he would initially be a development squad player while training with the first team.[13] 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.[14] Birmingham lost 5–2, and Simmonds replaced Amari Miller after 78 minutes to make his Football League debut.[15] 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.[16]

On 1 September 2022, Simmonds joined Grimsby Town on loan until January 2023.[17] He made his debut two days later as a 71st-minute substitute in a 2–0 win away to Newport County; according to the Grimsby Telegraph, he "got about the pitch well when he came on, but did not have a huge involvement."[18] Simmonds scored Grimsby's only goal in a 1–1 draw with his former club, Manchester City U21, in the EFL Trophy group stage, which Grimsby won on penalties to progress to the round of 32.[19] He played eight times in the league, starting only once and without scoring, before returning to Birmingham in January 2023.[20]

Simmonds was one of 13 professionals released at the end of the 2022–23 season.[21]

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.[22] He played in all three matches, and scored in the second, a 3–0 win against Russia.[23] He kept his place for two matches against Sweden and the Czech Republic in October.[23][24]

Career statistics

As of end of 2022–23 season
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City U21 2019–20[25] ————2[lower-alpha 1]020
2020–21[26] ————1[lower-alpha 1]111
Total ———3131
Birmingham City 2020–21[26] Championship 100000—10
2021–22[27] Championship 000010—10
2022–23[28] Championship 000000—00
Total 1000100020
Grimsby Town (loan) 2022–23[28] League Two 8020003[lower-alpha 1]1131
Career total 90201062182
  1. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Keyendrah Simmonds". Manchester City F.C. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  3. ↑ Williams, Sam (17 March 2017). "Meet the Academy: Okera Simmonds". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "Keke Simmonds: Club matches". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 Pellatt, Corey (23 September 2019). "Play Without Limits: Meet the young ballers tipped for takeover at Manchester City". Versus. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ Cox, Lewis (3 December 2019). "EFL Trophy: Shrewsbury Town 1 Man City U21s 1 (5–6 pens)". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ Bray, Joe (18 November 2020). "Man City have two more exciting defensive midfielders coming through the ranks". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Keyendrah Simmonds and Yan Valery: Birmingham City sign duo". BBC Sport. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ↑ Dick, Brian (11 February 2021). "'Massive' - Ex-Man City teen impressing with Birmingham City first team squad". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  14. ↑ Dick, Brian (8 May 2021). "Manchester City product given first Birmingham City call-up against Blackburn Rovers". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Dick, Brian (8 May 2021). "Birmingham City player ratings vs Blackburn: Blues struggle in Bowyer's absence". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Dick, Brian (25 May 2021). "'Snake hips' – The Man City product who could save Birmingham City millions". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  17. ↑ "Alex Hunt, Lewis Richardson and Keyendrah Simmonds: Grimsby Town sign Sheffield Wednesday midfielder and Burnley and Birmingham forwards". BBC Sport. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  18. ↑ Allen, Sam (3 September 2022). "Grimsby Town player ratings as Mariners turn in well-rounded team performance in Newport win". Grimsby Live. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  19. ↑ Allen, Sam (8 November 2022). "Grimsby Town through in Papa John's Trophy thanks to shootout success against Man City U21s". Grimsby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  20. ↑ "Keke Simmonds set for Birmingham return after uneventful Town loan move". Grimsby Telegraph. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "Blues Men's: Retained and released list". Birmingham City F.C. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  22. ↑ "England U18s squad named for Limoges Tournament in France". The Football Association (The FA). 31 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  23. 1 2 "Keke Simmonds: U18 friendlies 2018". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "England U18s squad named to face Sweden and Czech Republic at St. George's Park". The FA. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  25. ↑ "Games played by Keyendrah Simmonds in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  26. 1 2 "Games played by Keyendrah Simmonds in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Keyendrah Simmonds in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  28. 1 2 "Games played by Keyendrah Simmonds in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
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