Kayode Odejayi

Olukayode "Kayode" Odejayi (born February 21, 1982 in Ibadan) is a Nigerian professional footballer currently playing for Coca Cola Championship club Barnsley.

Career

Odejayi, a forward, was at Bristol City as a trainee, before moving on to Conference side Forest Green Rovers in 2002. 2002-03 turned out to be Rovers' best ever season since their foundation in 1890, and Odejayi was a key figure, scoring 13 goals as the club finished ninth.

This brought him to the attention of Cheltenham Town, and then-manager Bobby Gould signed him that summer. His first two seasons were a struggle but in his third season (2005-06) he played almost every game as Cheltenham stormed to the play-off final, winning 1-0 against fancied Grimsby Town. He came to national attention in January 2006 when Cheltenham faced Newcastle United in the FA Cup 4th round. Odejayi was outstanding, giving French international defender Jean-Alain Boumsong no end of problems during the game. Following the game he was linked with a move to Championship team Plymouth Argyle however the move never materialised.

On May 31 2007, Odejayi moved to Barnsley for £200,000, a Cheltenham record for a sale of a player. Forest Green Rovers will receive a windfall from the transfer as part of the terms of Odejayi's Cheltenham deal.

He scored in the Reds' first friendly against Morecambe in a 2-1 defeat. He then bagged a brace against Portuguese side Louletano DC in a 3-2 win. In a 3-1 victory against Buxton he bagged his fourth goal in three games.

Kayode netted his first competitive goal for Barnsley against Scunthorpe which effectively sealed a 2-0 victory for the Reds.

Odejayi has now set his sights on an international call up for the country of his birth, Nigeria.

Odejayi was booed off by his own fans against Southampton, after he missed a string of chances at goal. He himself admitted about his poor performances and promised the fans he would step it up and he did in the FA Cup quarter finals. Bobby Hassell and Barnsley manager Simon Davey have both publicly given the striker their backing. He will now unquestionably go down in folklore of Barnsley Football Club, as the scorer of one of the most important goals in their history when he secured a 1-0 victory at Oakwell in the quarter finals of the FA cup 2008. On April 6 2008 in the FA Cup Semi Final against Cardiff City F.C. he missed a glorious chance to score when he was put clean through on goal only to shoot wide, costing Barnsley the chance to equalise and possibly reach the FA Cup Final for the first time since 1912.

Despite a poor finishing record whilst within striking distance he has preserved his place at Barnsley. In Summer 2008, he earned his first ever call up to the Nigerian national team, coming on as a second-half subtitute in a 1-1 friendly draw against Austria.