TL;DR
Brentford's Michael Kayode revealed his partner is expecting a girl during a unique gender reveal at the stadium. Known for his long throw, he has significantly contributed to the team's scoring, with 10% of goals stemming from his throws this season.
There is only one place to start with Brentfordâs Michael Kayode: his unique baby gender reveal at an empty Gtech Community Stadium in February. The 21-year-old walked towards the West Stand, the frame of the goal covered in balloons, and after wiping the ball with a towel, it was time for his trademark long throw, though on this occasion only from the edge of the D. After the ball rippled the net, pink smoke confirmed his partner, Eleonora, is expecting a girl.
Given Kayode launched the ball 65.4 metres last September â further than any other player in the Premier League since Opta began recording such data in 2019-20 â it is hard not to think he was underselling himself. âI didnât want to miss,â he says, breaking into laughter, âso I just kept it easy.â Family, friends, a videographer and photographer, plus the coupleâs pomeranian, Kiri, were the only ones present. âIt was a really special moment and celebrating like this was unbelievable ⊠I just have to say thanks to Brentford for giving me use of the stadium.â
Significantly, there is substance to Kayodeâs long throw: of the 157 he has hurled into the box in the Premier League this season, 40 have resulted in a shot and five have culminated in goals, almost 10% of Brentfordâs goals scored tally. He downplays his part. âIt is simple. Obviously it is a weapon, but across 90 minutes, in that period the ball is out for maybe not even five minutes for throw-ins.â Does he practise throw-ins? âNo, no, not at all.â
Brentford were the first team in England to hire a specialist set-piece coach when they appointed Gianni Vio in 2015 and, these days, long throws are part of the furniture. For Kayode, it is his USP and an attribute that alerted Brentford when he was an 18-year-old playing in Serie A for Fiorentina, but there is much more to his game. âIt is hard to defend, I think harder to defend than a corner. But itâs just a part of the game â I donât play just because I have a long throw. There are a lot of different aspects to my performance. You have to watch me as a player.â
What is Italian for pigeonholed? Brentford were confident Kayodeâs athleticism, power and physicality would be a perfect match for the English top flight and no player 21 or under has played more minutes in the Premier League this season than Kayode, who signed permanently in a ÂŁ15m deal at the end of last season and has missed one league match this campaign. Some at the club even felt Kayode could be better suited to the Premier League than Serie A. âTwo totally different types of football,â he says. âMore runs, more duels. I really enjoy it.â
Kayode spent seven years in Juventusâs academy but aged 14 joined Serie D Gozzano, for whom he made his first-team debut aged 16. âTo drop down was hard, but after I was like: âI want to come back to that level,â so I used that as fuel.â His performances in the fourth tier led him to Fiorentina and the way he tamed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in a 3-1 win over Napoli cemented his reputation as a burgeoning talent. âI was 19 and before the game, everyone was saying: âYou have to mark him, itâs going to be really hard.â The staff prepared me a lot, showed me a lot of clips, so I was a little bit shaky at first,â he says, smiling.