Kamari Doyle: What we learned from the Brighton youngster's season of two halves

New York Times

16 hours ago

During a recent guest appearance with Brighton & Hove Albion's official supporters' club, Gordon Greer identified Kamari Doyle when the loans manager was asked about a player to keep an eye on for the future.
It is a good indication of Doyle's potential, considering that more than 20 players were loaned out by the club during the 2024-25 campaign at a variety of levels, including the Premier League. (Facundo Buonanotte spent the season at Leicester City, Evan Ferguson joined West Ham United on loan from the winter window, and Julio Enciso went to Ipswich Town from January.)
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Doyle's career is heading in the right direction again after contrasting spells with two League One clubs in 2024-25. The 19-year-old playmaker's fortunes were transformed by a mid-season swap to Crawley Town from Exeter City.
Doyle's loan to Exeter last August kicked off off in style. He scored his first senior goal from a free kick on his full debut in a 2-0 win away at Bolton Wanderers.
Kamari Doyle with a stunning free kick 🎯
The former Southampton prospect learned a thing or too from James Ward-Prowse 😏#EFL | @OfficialECFC pic.twitter.com/xi441rAmTC
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 31, 2024
It was reminiscent of James Ward-Prowse, his mentor at Southampton, the club where he started as a seven-year-old, training at their academy in Bath. However, that goal turned out to be the high point of a stint that was supposed to last for the season but was cut short by Brighton in January after Doyle dropped out of the picture for Gary Caldwell's side.
By the time Doyle returned to the Amex Stadium he had made the same number of league appearances from the bench (10) as in the starting line-up. In those games he contributed three goals and no assists, having mainly been used by Caldwell as one of two No 10s in a flexible 3-4-2-1 formation, or sometimes deeper as one of two No 6s.
'When he first came into the side he looked like a player too good for the level, really good on the ball, skilful,' Daniel Clark, Exeter correspondent for Devon Live, told The Athletic. 'The sticking point was not so much what he could do with the ball as off the ball. He wasn't sticking in positions to press and perhaps wasn't working hard enough to keep in the shape off the ball.
'That was the downfall which led to him dropping out of first-team contention. There were games where he had one or two brilliant moments but would otherwise be anonymous. He had the skills, the technique, but perhaps not quite the work rate to fit into the system they were trying to play. There is definitely a player there if he can put it all together.'
A move instead to Brighton's neighbours was not an obvious fit aside from geography — Crawley is just 20 miles away. Doyle was taken off at half-time by Caldwell in Exeter's final fixture of 2024, a 4-4 draw at fellow strugglers Crawley from 4-1 down at the interval. The result left Crawley in relegation peril in 21st place.
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Although he could not save them from the drop into the fourth tier, Doyle's form at Crawley was scintillating. He contributed seven goals and four assists in 21 appearances, including 15 starts, under Rob Elliot and then Scott Lindsey who took over in March.
A purple patch in February and March saw Doyle score four goals with three assists over 11 league games, the highest number of goal involvements of any teenager in the top four tiers over the period. He followed that with two goals in a 4-0 win at Rotherham, prompting a cheeky request on Crawley's social media account to Brighton for an asking price to sign him permanently.
'We couldn't believe that he was potentially going to be available,' Elliot told The Athletic. 'I spoke to him and went down to Brighton, spoke to Gordon Greer. The questions about him were out of possession and his work rate. I didn't really see that myself when I watched him. I thought he worked hard and was very gifted.
'He can look to the eye sometimes a bit lethargic, the way he runs, but the eye impression can be different to the output. I spoke to a couple of players at Exeter that I know and they spoke highly of him.
'When I spoke to him, he was very mature for his age. I told him that if his work rate and out-of-possession stuff was spot-on, his ability is unquestionable. From minute one when he walked in until I left he was different class.
'He scored goals, was top of the stats for physical output, trained hard every day, was never a problem. He was just a joy to be around. He has got an exciting future in the game. He is two-footed, can score goals and control the game. He has got a really good opportunity.
'Eventually, I think he will be able to play a more dynamic midfield role as a No 8, but for now he is best as a No 10. You want him central, because he has a real knack of arriving in the box and he has got a fantastic finish. He comes alive in front of goal. Clubs spend millions for someone who can put the ball in the net.'
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Doyle appeared to be a star in the making at Southampton. Born to an English-Jamaican mother and a Rwandan father, he signed a professional contract at the age of 17, made his first-team debut as a substitute against Brighton in the Premier League in May 2023 and represented England at junior levels.
Brighton took advantage of his reluctance to commit to a new contract at Southampton when they signed him in the January 2024 transfer window, blooding him initially in the under-21s. His prolific loan at Crawley, to begin with under Elliot, has put his career back on track.
Elliot made 52 Premier League appearances in goal for Newcastle from 2011 to 2020 during his playing days, which also included spells in the second and third tiers for Charlton Athletic, so he knows what it takes to play at the top level.
'I believe he can go as far as he wants,' Elliot said of Doyle. 'I wouldn't be surprised if he makes appearances for Brighton's first team. Whether he can maintain that and become a regular is hard to tell when you step up the levels, but I think he is going to get better and better.
'The best thing for him next season is to play regular football in a team that suits the way he plays, whether that is at the top of League One or maybe even the Championship.'