Kyle Michael Dempsey (born 17 September 1995) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Early life

Dempsey was born in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

, Cumbria. His father Michael Dempsey played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

professionally for

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

and he nearly followed his father into the sport, having played for youth sides at

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

before electing to pursue a career in professional football.

Career

Dempsey made his first-team debut for

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

on 28 January 2014 in a 3–0 win over

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

. Dempsey scored 11 goals on top of 10 assists in his first professional season. He was named as Carlisle's Player of the Year for the 2014–15 season. He signed for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on 10 July 2015 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. He made his debut as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 2–0 defeat against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

at the

KC Stadium The MKM Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kingston upon Hull, England. It has a current capacity of 25,586. The stadium is home to both association football club Hull City A.F.C. of the EFL Championship and rugby league club Hull F.C. of ...

on 8 August 2015. His first league start came in their 2–2 draw against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

on 3 November 2015. His first goal for the club came in a 4–2 defeat against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

on 19 December 2015. On 29 August 2016, with his chances limited at Huddersfield, Dempsey joined League One club Fleetwood Town on a season-long

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

. He signed for the club permanently on a three-year contract on 19 May 2017. Dempsey joined Fleetwood's League One rivals

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

on 7 January 2019 on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. On 17 August 2020, Dempsey joined League One club Gillingham and was made captain for the 2020-21 season. He was named team captain the following month. Dempsey attracted interest and an offer in the January 2021

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, but Gillingham turned the offer down and Dempsey remained at the club. Dempsey joined

on 31 January 2022 for a fee around £150,000. On 2 April 2023, he started in the 2023 EFL Trophy Final, scoring the opening goal against Plymouth Argyle; Bolton won 4–0. On 27 June 2023, he signed a two-year extension at Bolton, keeping him at the club until 2026.

Style of play

Dempsey has been utilised as a " deeper-lying number eight to a number 10 behind the front two", describing himself as a "goal-scoring midfielder" who "likes to receive the ball around the halfway line and drive with the ball and bring everyone else into play".

Personal life

On 1 March 2023 at Carlisle Crown Court, Dempsey admitted an assault on a

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...

doorman on 16 July 2022 and, along with his father, was granted unconditional bail ahead of sentencing on 11 April 2023. He was given a 12 month

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

, which was suspended for 18 months, alongside 200 hours of unpaid

voluntary work Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

and was forced to pay £1750 in damages. He was also given a

curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...

of 9pm–7am and would be required to wear an electronic tag, though was given permission to break said curfew when it came to his professional football career.

Career statistics

Honours

Bolton Wanderers *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

: 2022–23 Individual *

Player of the Year: 2014–15 * Fleetwood Town Young Player of the Year: 2016–17 * Gillingham Player of the Year: 2020–21

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Kyle 1995 births Living people Footballers from Whitehaven English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Carlisle United F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen