Former West Ham and Swindon Town right-back seeking a fly start in Sky Bet League Two with Cambridge United
Kyle Knoyle has the bit between his teeth for the new Sky Bet League Two season.
With a taste of international and top-line football already under his belt, Cambridge United’s new right-back is determined to hit the ground running.
And, by all accounts from his displays in pre-season, that is exactly what he was brought in to do.
When the 22-year-old’s signing was confirmed by the U’s, one of the thoughts of head coach Colin Calderwood was that “he will contribute towards an energetic right-hand side to our squad”.
It was those trademarks that caught the eye of some U’s supporters when Knoyle appeared for Swindon Town at the Abbey Stadium last season, and they have been honed at the well-respected West Ham academy.
Having been scouted for the Hammers from his colts side, Knoyle went on to develop his game at Upton Park, making his first-team debut as an 18-year-old in the Europa League, third qualifying match against Romanian side FC Astra Giurgiu.
Among those alongside him in the starting line-up that day were Kevin Nolan and Manuel Lanzini.
“I didn’t really expect it until they named the team the day before – it was a great experience, one that I won’t forget in my career,” says Knoyle.
“Now the plan for me is to get back as high as I can.
“You’ve got to make the most of your opportunities when you get them because, as you see in the Premier League, not many youngsters do get opportunities and when you do you’ve got to pretty much rip it up where the manager has to pick you.
“I felt I did well, but it probably wasn’t enough which is why my career has turned out like it has in that sense.”
Blocking his route to the West Ham first team that season were the likes of Arsenal loanee Carl Jenkinson, Sam Bryam and Joey O’Brien, a formidable barrier to regular football for a teenager.
It was felt that a spell away may serve him well, so Scotland came calling.
“I felt it best for my development to go out on loan and went up to Scotland with Dundee United and played quite a few games,” he explains.
“That furthered my career as well because my next loan was Wigan in the Championship.”
The optimism and excitement of getting the chance to impress in the country’s second tier, suffered an early, jarring blow.
On a pre-season training camp with the Latics in Portugal in the summer of 2016, he suffered a dislocated and broken elbow.
It was to leave Knoyle sidelined for an extended spell, restricting him to just one substitute appearance all season for Wigan.
He looks back on it as character forming though, and feels that the experience has helped teach him in different ways.
“I’ve had a couple of setbacks in a similar way, but that’s how a football career goes,” says Knoyle.
“A career is not smooth where you go straight into a first team and you’re playing every game for the rest of your career.
“You’re going to have obstacles that you’ve got to overcome but they’ve got to make you mentally stronger and you’ve got to use them to your advantage so that you know that in the future you can overcome them a lot easier.
“You develop a lot of mental strength. It’s frustrating not being out there, but when you do get back out there you’ve got a different drive, a different motivation where you cherish it more because you know what it’s been like to be in the physio room, to be in the gym, to not be out there training with your team-mates.
“When you do come back you do feel like you are mentally stronger, you’re more aware as in to look after your body as well so you benefit through those sessions as well.”
You also get a glimpse of the mental strength and ability of Knoyle from another set of games he played as a teenager.
He represented England under-18s on three occasions, where his team-mates included Leicester City duo Demerai Gray and Ben Chilwell and Spurs pair Dele Ali and Harry Winks.
“It was a great experience,” he says. “I can still remember the moment I found out I had got called up, I was over the moon and ecstatic.
“The coach pulled me to one side when I was leaving with another team-mate who also got called up, and I couldn’t really believe it.
“It was a great experience to go to St George’s Park, see the first-team players and when you’re in that sort of environment it drives you to become a top player and to keep pushing.”
It is that drive of Knoyle that should serve the U’s well this season.
Having been released by West Ham in the summer of 2017, he made the switch to Swindon Town and would go on to establish himself as first choice right-back last season.
“Both years were good for my development,” he says.
“The first year was tough as I had an experienced player in my position so I had to bide my time and wait for an opportunity.
“When I did eventually get an opportunity, I came into a good run of form in the second half of the season and that pushed me onto the start of last season, where I played pretty much every game.”
After making 48 appearances last campaign, there was the offer of a new deal on the table from the Robins.
But as negotiations broke down towards the end of the season, Knoyle decided to look at his options and felt it was best for both parties that they went their separate ways.
That led to the Abbey, with the enthusiasm and plans of Calderwood impressing the defender.
“I had a lot of discussions with the manager over the summer and I felt it was the right place for me to continue my development as a footballer and to help further my career,” he explains.
“I had a good season last year and I wanted to carry that on to keep improving and to get to the next level really.”
Those ambitions mean the sight of Knoyle flying up and down the flanks this season is all but guaranteed.
