Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson has revealed that League One rivals Stevenage attempted to bring striker Joshua Kayode to the club in the summer prior to his temporary move to Brunton Park from Championship outfit Rotherham United.
The 23-year-old linked up with the Cumbrian side for the third time at the end of the transfer window, having previously enjoyed two loan spells at the club between 2020 and 2021.
Parent club Rotherham were prepared to let the former Republic of Ireland international leave on a permanent deal this summer, and it is believed that six-figure bids were received from League One clubs. Kayode rejected the chance and was only prepared to leave on loan, prompting the Millers to extend his contract by an additional year to avoid losing him for free at the end of this season.
Over 10 third tier clubs were interested in aquiring his services on a season-long deal, but Carlisle won out due to their previous connections with the player, where he had scored 11 goals in 41 appearances.
He started Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Stevenage, with Simpson confirming that their opponents were one of the clubs vying for his signature. Via The Carlisle News & Star, the former England under-20 boss said;
“You can see why Stevenage wanted to bring him into the club as well.
“He’s their type of player, because he backs in and makes it difficult for defenders to head.”
Continuing, Simpson was pleased with Kayode’s outing and believes he can only get better;
“That’s why it was difficult for Jon Mellish, Paul Huntington, Sam Lavelle, because nothing’s a free header (against Stevenage).
“JJ does that as well. He caused problems.
“I think there’s still a lot more to come from him, he’ still finding his feet and fitness, the challenge for us is to make sure we keep him fit, get him even fitter and I’m sure we’ll see even more from him if we do that.”
Carlisle have had an indifferent start to life in League One, winning one of their opening seven fixtures. They face a stern test this weekend when they travel to the East Midlands to take on high-flying Lincoln City at the LNER Stadium.
Writer’s View
Kayode is a player who is well liked at Carlisle, but he will take some time to get up and running again. He has barely played any first team football as of late, with his loan spell at MK Dons last season disrupted by injury.
This is why Paul Simpson is determined to play him into fitness and he knows that should he remain injury-free, he could be a player who plays a key role in cementing their place in League One this season.
