Keyendrah Simmonds

Loan until January from Birmingham City.

21 year old striker

England Under 15s and Under 18s

That was unexpected

No one predicted that one did they, alot of buzz around him, alot of striking options now

Has training experience with Man City first team good mates with Sterling apparently

Apparently more of a forward than a striker. Likes to come in off the left.

Typical Hurst signing. Unknown to all and sundry and right out of left field.

This one slipped under the radar somewhat.

Good young England pedigree (over 4 years) and 12 years at Man City.  Only negative is possible friends with Sterling.  

We have 3 young strikers now with ability and energy to work with Taylor whilst McAtee is recovering.

Lots of options now especially with Otis nearing fitness. Maybe an outgoing?

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

Good young England pedigree (over 4 years) and 12 years at Man City.  Only negative is possible friends with Sterling.  

We have 3 young strikers now with ability and energy to work with Taylor whilst McAtee is recovering.

Maybe looking to play 2 up more often?

Maybe no place for Taylor ?

Quoted from golfer

Maybe no place for Taylor ?

Probably.  I don't think he'd have played anywhere near as many minutes as he has if it weren't for our limited options up front.

Anyone have any idea what kind of forward player this lad is?

Think hes a wide forward similar to Wearne and Kiernan.
Apparently quick and creative according to Birmingham fans.

Two new promising lads who, along with Pepple, can fight for places up front and hopefully give the attack some natural pace.

Knowledge from both Neil Woods and Ryan Taylor should teach them a few striker tricks for use on the pitch.

With the way that chances have been made, but perhaps not been capitalised on, there is every chance of any of them progressing this season and the team benefitting.

Decent profile of him in the Yorkshire Examiner from last month as Wednesday were linked with him -

Sheffield Wednesday have been linked with Birmingham City forward Keyendrah Simmonds as Darren Moore looks for younger options to bolster his attack and bring down the average age of his squad, according to the Star.

The 21-year-old moved to Birmingham from Premier League Champions Manchester City after coming through the academy system with the Citizens and enjoying great success with their Under-18s side. Simmonds scored 22 goals in 38 appearances over two seasons in the U18 Premier League, operating across the front three and at times behind the striker, which illustrated his adaptability and versatility as a forward player.

So what do we know of Keyendrah? We have taken a closer look at Simmonds, his journey so far, and what he could bring to Wednesday.

Simmonds moved to Birmingham in January 2021, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract which runs until the summer of 2023. The hope at the time for Simmonds was likely that he would get more opportunities in the senior game with the Championship club.

However, chances have been few and far between since the move. Simmonds has amassed just a single league appearance for the Blues in one-and-a-half seasons, bringing links from a few League One clubs with a drop-down a division likely to bring him more opportunities.

He made eight appearances in the Premier League 2 with Birmingham’s U23 side last season, scoring three goals and providing an assist. He has shown at youth level that he knows where the back of the net is, and Moore could allow him to show it at the senior level.

Simmonds played five times for the England U18s side back in 2018 and also featured for the U15s side, which illustrates the pedigree he had while coming through the City academy to be recognised as one of the top players in the country at his age.

“It is an honour to put on the England shirt and represent your country,” he told BluesTV when he signed for Birmingham. “To be recognised as one of the best players in the country at your age group and is something that I am really happy to have achieved in my career so far.”

Aitor Karanka was the man to bring the 21-year-old to St Andrew’s in what would turn out to be the Spaniard's last signing for the club before his dismissal. However, the then-Blues manager clearly rated Simmonds and saw his potential at the time of his arrival.

“His quality has been massive; he has been training with the first-team squad at City, which is difficult,” Karanka explained in 2021. "You can see his quality but he needs time and needs to realise it is a long path in front of him. I have liked what I have seen of him with the first team but it is different, you can have the quality but the intensity and everything is different.”

Those thoughts were echoed by development coach Steve Spooner who, speaking after an academy game against Sheffield United, highlighted Keyendrah’s proficiency at the point of a midfield diamond.

“That’s a position that is ideal for him,” he told BirminghamLive . “He has got those snake hips, hasn’t he? It’s like he’s on a dance floor; he can go either way once he gets that ball. He drops the shoulder, and he is away. I thought he was outstanding in that position.

“He has really bought into the team ethic. He has had an indifferent start coming to the club but he has had a fantastic finish and I am delighted for him. He’s got some wonderful traits, takes the ball so well, some comfortable with it and silky skills.”


Might be a bit of a diamond, maybe in the McAtee role behind the striker?

His lack of first team football would make me think he's more likely to be playing a bit part off the bench initially, unless he really shows well in training. I'd be expecting Orsi to start ahead of either of the two new loan strikers, though I'm sure they'll all get good chances to prove themselves coming off the bench.

I think that the 2 new boys will go ahead of Pepple in the pecking order and maybe even Orsi. We only have Simmonds for 5 months so need to utilise him while we have him. Richardson looks like he would become the natural choice match on match.

I suspect that Taylor is still likely to be the main striker if fit, with one of the others (not orsi) buzzing around him in a mcatee type role. According to others, orsi is not suited to a one up front role and needs someone with him so as in the play offs, depending on how the game is going hurst will probably change 2 up top at the same time, playing to strengths and also giving the opposition something very different to think about a bit like when he brought mani and Abraham’s on.

Then maybe, again depending on the opposition, play 2 up front from the start and swap it the other way round at some point.

The most important things is we now have enough players to have a number of options.

We will soon find out.

I wonder, with the variety in size, stature and style of the forward players we have whether we may see a more outright 433.

I think that Taylor will continue to be involved for his experience and the qualities he brings, but with Pepple, Orsi and Richardson seemingly more forwards as opposed to wingers I don't think PH would want that much squad wastage on players not doing anything. 4 Players for 1 position in a lone striker system doesn't seem like a PH thing.

That would leave Simmonds, JMD, Wearne, Kiernan, Clifton (as he operates at the moment) along with McAtee, Scanz and Khan once fit as more 'wing' or number 10 based options. It leaves PH with some great options and flexibility in terms of how he can change systems in games and I certainly don't envy him trying to keep that cadre of quality happy with their playing time as I can't make my own mind up about who I would most like to see in the team.