Kamari Doyle

Kamari Doyle
Personal information
Full name Kamari Olivier Doyle[1]
Date of birth (2005-08-01) 1 August 2005 (age 19)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Exeter City
(on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
Number 20
Youth career
2013–2023 Southampton
2024 Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2024 Southampton 1 (0)
2024– Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2024– → Exeter City (loan) 14 (3)
International career‡
2022 England U17 3 (1)
2023 England U18 3 (0)
2023– England U19 2 (0)
2024– England U20 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:21, 27 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:36, 12 December 2024 (UTC)

Kamari Olivier Doyle (born 1 August 2005) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One side Exeter City on loan from the academy of Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.[2]

Early life

Doyle was born to an English-Jamaican mother and a Rwandan father.[3] Doyle trained with Southampton staff in Bath, Somerset from the age of seven. He would later travel down from Bristol with his grandfather to attend Southampton academy sessions.[4]

Career

Southampton

Doyle played as a sixteen year-old for Southampton in the EFL Trophy away against Charlton Athletic on 5 October 2021.[5][6] During the season Doyle signed a pre-contract agreement that his first professional contract with Southampton that would come into effect upon his seventeenth birthday.[7] Doyle and Southampton won the Under-18 Premier League South in 2021–22.[8]

During the 2022–23 season, Doyle played as Saints B won the Premier League 2 Division 2, it was the second consecutive youth league win for Doyle.[9] He also featured prominently as the Southampton under-18 team reached the semi-finals of the 2022–23 FA Youth Cup.[10]

On the penultimate week of the season he was one of three academy players promoted to train with the first team squad for the Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on 21 May 2023.[11] Doyle was subsequently named in the match day squad and appeared in the second half as a substitute for his senior professional debut.[12][13]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 26 January 2024, he joined the youth academy of Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee.[14]

Loan to Exeter

On 16 August 2024, Doyle joined League One side Exeter City on a season-long loan deal.[15] He registered his first senior goal on 31 August 2024, scoring directly from a free kick during a 2–0 away win against Bolton Wanderers.[16]

Style of play

Considered a two-footed player, who can receive and pass with either foot as well as strike free-kicks with either foot, it has been reported that Doyle has been mentored to a degree by James Ward-Prowse at Southampton. He has played for Southampton and England U-18s in a wide range of central midfield roles, and even in a withdrawn number 10 role.[17]

International career

An England youth international, Doyle scored his first goal for the England U17s against Norway in June 2022.[18]

On 6 September 2023, Doyle made his England U19 debut during a 1–0 defeat to Germany in Oliva.[19]

On 15 November 2024, Doyle made his England U20 debut as a substitute during a 4-0 win over Germany at Chesterfield.[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton 2022–23[21] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 0
2023–24[22] Championship 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Total 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 2 0
Brighton and Hove Albion 2023–24[22] Premier League 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
Exeter City (loan) 2024–25[23] League One 11 3 1 1 – 1[a] 0 13 4
Career total 12 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 15 4

Notes

  1. ^ Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy

References

  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Kami Doyle". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  3. ^ Edmund Okai Gyimah (14 October 2024). "Doyle eyes national team football". The New Times. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  4. ^ Tanswell, Jacob (19 May 2023). "Kami Doyle and Dom Ballard: Southampton's last 2 games key for pathway development". The Athletic. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  5. ^ Colman, Jonty (9 October 2021). "Southampton coach pays glowing tribute to growing academy star likened to James Ward-Prowse". Hampshire Live. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Charlton vs Southampton 4–1". Soccerway. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  7. ^ Crocker, Tom (5 August 2022). "Doyle's delight at signing first pro contract with Southampton FC". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  8. ^ House, Alfie (28 April 2023). "Southampton crowned Premier League 2 Division Two champions". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  9. ^ House, Alfie (11 May 2023). "Southampton B crowned as winners of Premier League 2 Division 2". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Saints U18s to face West Ham in FA Youth Cup semi-finals". Southampton FC. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  11. ^ House, Alfie (19 May 2023). "Selles hints Southampton academy trio could feature at Brighton". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Brighton vs. Southampton". Soccerway. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  13. ^ Mann, Mantej (21 May 2023). "Brighton & Hove Albion 3–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  14. ^ Talbot, Bruce (26 January 2024). "Kamari Doyle joins Albion from Southampton". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Kamari Doyle is a Grecian!". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Bolton 0-2 Exeter". Sky Sports. 31 August 2024.
  17. ^ Tanswell, Jacob (5 April 2023). "Introducing Southampton under-18s - the best since class of Ward-Prowse, Shaw and Reed". The Athletic. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Norway U17 vs. England U17 0–3". Soccerway. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  19. ^ Smith, Frank (6 September 2023). "England MU19s 0–1 Germany". England Football. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  20. ^ Gibson, Thomas (15 November 2024). "Report: England ELS 4-0 Germany". England Football.
  21. ^ "Games played by Kamari Doyle in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Games played by Kamari Doyle in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Games played by Kamari Doyle in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2024.