Cole Kpekawa
Personal information
Full name Cole Desmond Kpekawa[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-20) 20 May 1996[2]
Place of birth Blackpool, England
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Bromley
Number 5
Youth career
Queens Park Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Queens Park Rangers 6 (0)
2014–2015 → Colchester United (loan) 4 (0)
2015 → Portsmouth (loan) 2 (0)
2015–2016 → Leyton Orient (loan) 9 (0)
2016–2017 Barnsley 7 (0)
2017–2018 Colchester United 6 (0)
2018–2019 St Mirren 4 (0)
2019 Billericay Town 7 (0)
2019–2020 AS Trenčín 1 (0)
2020–2021 Chelmsford City 11 (0)
2021–2022 Hemel Hempstead Town 37 (3)
2022–2023 Maidenhead United 25 (3)
2023– Bromley 7 (0)
2023 → Oxford City (loan) 4 (1)
International career
2015 England U20 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:52, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

Cole Desmond Kpekawa (born 20 May 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bromley.

Club career

Queens Park Rangers

Born in Blackpool,[3] Kpekawa came through the Academy at Queens Park Rangers.[4] He signed a two-year scholarship with the club in July 2012 at the age of 16.[1] On 2 April 2014, he signed his first professional contract on a one-year deal.[5][6]

Kpekawa joined League One side Colchester United for an initial one-month loan deal on 20 November 2014.[7] He made his professional debut against Coventry City at the Colchester Community Stadium in a 1–0 League One defeat on 22 November.[8] After making four appearances for Colchester, his loan was extended for a further month until 24 January 2015.[9] He made six appearances for Colchester, four in League One and two in the FA Cup.[10]

On 19 March 2015, he was loaned to League Two side Portsmouth until the end of the season.[11] He made his debut on 21 March in a 1–0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon where he played the full 90-minutes.[12] He was recalled from his loan at Portsmouth by QPR on 20 April having made two first-team appearances.[13]

On returning to QPR, Kpekawa made his debut for the club as an 85th-minute substitute for Yun Suk-young in a 5–1 Premier League defeat to Leicester City on 24 May 2015.[14]

On 19 November 2015, he joined League Two side Leyton Orient in an initial one-month loan deal.[15] He made his debut two days later on 21 November as an early substitute in a 3–2 league win against York City.[16] His loan was extended in December 2015,[4] and again in January 2016 to remain with the O's until 1 March 2016.[17] He was recalled from his loan by parent club QPR on 1 February 2016 after making nine appearances for Orient.[18]

Barnsley

After struggling to hold down a first-team place at Queens Park Rangers, Championship rivals Barnsley signed Kpekawa for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £450,000, on 31 August 2016. He agreed a three-year contract with the club.[19][20] He made his Barnsley debut on 10 September 2016 as a late substitute in their 2–1 win at Preston North End.[21] However, after only four starts, Kpekawa found himself out of the first-team picture as manager Paul Heckingbottom preferred to play right-back Andy Yiadom out of position at left-back, while the club coaches worked with Kpekawa to suit a more central role.[22]

Colchester United

Having made only seven league appearances for Barnsley, Kpekawa made a permanent return to his former loan club Colchester United on 17 July 2017.[23] He signed an initial one-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[24] He made his second Colchester United debut on 5 August as a substitute in their 3–1 defeat at Accrington Stanley.[25]

After failing to establish himself in Colchester's first-team and having not made an appearance since January 2018, Kpekawa left the club by mutual consent on 13 April 2018.[26]

St Mirren

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that Kpekawa had signed a two-year deal with St Mirren after a successful trial period with the Scottish Premiership side.[27] Kpekawa made his debut for the club on the same day, starting in a 0–0 draw with Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup.[28] After failing to break into the first team at Saints, he was released by mutual consent in January 2019.[29]

AS Trenčín

On 20 August 2019, Kpekawa joined Fortuna Liga side AS Trenčín on a multi-year contract following a spell with Billericay Town.[30]

Kpekawa made his Fortuna Liga debut against Zemplín Michalovce on 14 September 1019.[31] In his debut match, Kpekawa was sent off in the 9th minute of the match, after he broke a leg of 18 year old Matej Trusa. Later that day, Trusa was diagnosed with a double fracture of his right leg. It was expected to take approximately 12 months until he recovers.[32] Trusa, however, managed to return in 6 months. On 20 September 2019, Kpekawa was suspended for six months by the disciplinary committee of Slovak Football Association for his foul on Trusa.[33]

Non-League

On 30 October 2020, Kpekawa signed for National League South club Chelmsford City.[34]

On 2 June 2021, Chelmsford announced fellow National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town had signed Kpekawa.[35]

On 27 May 2022, Kpekawa joined National League club Maidenhead United.[36] He was released at the end of the season.[37]

He joined Bromley for the 2023-24 season.[38] In November 2023, he joined Oxford City on loan.[39]

International career

Kpekawa was born in England and is of Sierra Leone descent.[40] On 3 September 2015, following an injury to Kean Bryan of Manchester City, Kpekawa was called up to the England under-20 squad for their match against the Czech Republic.[41] Two days later he made his international debut as the Czech Republic were defeated 5–0. He featured for the full 90-minutes.[42]

He was again called up to the under-20 squad for the Mercedes-Benz Elite Cup in Germany, where England would play the Netherlands, Turkey and Germany.[43] He started in England's 2–1 win against Turkey and featured as a substitute in their 1–0 defeat by Germany as England ended the competition as runners-up.[44]

Style of play

Kpekawa primarily plays as a left-back but can also operate as a centre-back. Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom described him as "tall, quick, strong, with a good left foot".[45]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Queens Park Rangers 2014–15[10] Premier League 10–00–10
2015–16[46] Championship 500020–70
2016–17[47] Championship 000010–10
Total 600030–90
Colchester United (loan) 2014–15[10] League One 4020000060
Portsmouth (loan) 2014–15[10] League Two 20–000020
Leyton Orient (loan) 2015–16[46] League Two 9000–0090
Barnsley 2016–17[47] Championship 7000–0070
Colchester United 2017–18[48] League Two 6000101[lower-alpha 1]080
St Mirren 2018–19[49] Scottish Premiership 4000400080
Billericay Town 2018–19[49] National League South 7000000070
AS Trenčín 2019–20[49] Slovak Super Liga 1000000010
Chelmsford City 2020–21[49] National League South 11000001[lower-alpha 2]0120
Hemel Hempstead Town 2021–22[49] National League South 37320001[lower-alpha 2]0403
Maidenhead United 2022–23[49] National League 25300002[lower-alpha 2]0273
Bromley 2023–24[49] National League 6010000070
Oxford City (loan) 2023–24[49] National League 4100000041
Career total 12975080501477
  1. ↑ Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. 1 2 3 Appearance in FA Trophy

References

  1. 1 2 "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/07/2012 and 31/07/2012" (PDF). The FA. 31 May 2012. p. 9. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 Cole Kpekawa at Soccerbase
  3. ↑ "Barnsley". FootballSquads. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Cole Kpekawa: Leyton Orient extend QPR defender's loan deal". BBC Sport. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa signs pro deal". Queens Park Rangers FC. 2 April 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/04/2014 and 30/04/2014" (PDF). The FA. 30 April 2014. p. 2. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "QPR youngster Cole Kpekawa joins Colchester United". BBC Sport. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Colchester United 0–1 Coventry City". BBC Sport. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa extends Colchester stay". Queens Park Rangers FC. 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Cole Kpekawa in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Portsmouth sign Nyron Nosworthy and Cole Kpekawa on loan". BBC Sport. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "AFC Wimbledon 1–0 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Cole Kpekwawa recalled from Portsmouth loan". Queens Park Rangers FC. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Canavan, Steve (24 May 2015). "Leicester City 5–1 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "News: O's add QPR defender on loan". Leyton Orient FC. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "Leyton Orient 3–2 York City". BBC Sport. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  17. ↑ "News: Kpekawa extends O's stay". Leyton Orient FC. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  18. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa recalled from Orient loan". Queens Park Rangers FC. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "Barnsley: QPR's Cole Kpekawa, Wigan's Sam Morsy and Celtic's Saidy Janko sign". BBC Sport. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Kpekawa loving life with Barnsley; Wales call-up for Bradshaw". The Star. Sheffield. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  21. ↑ "Preston North End 1–2 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  22. ↑ "Coaches working hard with 'centre-back' Kpekawa". Barnsley Chronicle. Barnsley. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  23. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa: Colchester United sign Barnsley defender". BBC Sport. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  24. ↑ Waldron, Jonathan (17 July 2017). "Colchester United seal Cole Kpekawa switch". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  25. ↑ "Accrington Stanley 3–1 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  26. ↑ Marston, Carl (13 April 2018). "Cole Kpekawa departs Colchester United". Green'Un. Ipswich. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  27. ↑ "Kpekawa sign for Saints". St Mirren. 13 July 2018.
  28. ↑ "Kilmarnock 0-0 St Mirren: Alan Stubbs eyes 'marquee' striker signings for Buddies". BBC. 14 July 2018.
  29. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa leaves". St Mirren. 21 January 2019. Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  30. ↑ "A-TÍM V KABÍNE OBRANCA SO SKÚSENOSŤOU Z PREMIER LEAGUE" (in Slovak). AS Trenčín. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  31. ↑ MFK Zemplín Michalovce - AS Trenčín 2:1 15.09.2019, futbalnet.sk
  32. ↑ "Víťazstvo cez slzy, Šoltis: Verím, že Trusa sa vráti, mal skvele našliapnuté". Profutbal.sk. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  33. ↑ "Kpekawa z AS Trenčín dostal exemplárny trest za zlomenie nohy Matejovi Trusovi". Šport.sk. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  34. ↑ "Chelmsford City sign defender Cole Kpekawa". Chelmsford City. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  35. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa departure". Chelmsford City. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  36. ↑ "Welcome to York Road, Cole Kpekawa". www.pitchero.com/clubs/maidenheadunited. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  37. ↑ "Retained list details announced". maidenheadunitedfc.org. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  38. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa becomes second summer signing". bromleyfc.co.uk. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  39. ↑ https://www.oxfordcityfc.co.uk/oxford-city-sign-cole-kpekawa
  40. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa :: Cole Desmond Kpekawa :: Chelmsford City".
  41. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa called into England under-20 squad". Queens Park Rangers FC. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  42. ↑ Veevers, Nicholas (5 September 2015). "England U20s kick-off with 5-0 win at St. George's Park". The FA. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  43. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa added to England U20 squad". Queens Park Rangers FC. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  44. ↑ "The Under 20's". England Football Online. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  45. ↑ "Cole Kpekawa Is A Red!". Barnsley FC. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  46. 1 2 "Games played by Cole Kpekawa in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  47. 1 2 "Games played by Cole Kpekawa in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  48. ↑ "Games played by Cole Kpekawa in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  49. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Games played by Cole Kpekawa in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
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