Kieran Kennedy

Kennedy has been capped by the England under-19 team.

Early career

Kennedy started his career at Manchester City and spent a total of 14 years at the club's Academy. He was given the squad number 54 by manager Roberto Mancini for the 2012–13 season. He joined Leicester City on loan during the 2013–14 season, mainly playing in their under-21 squad, before he was signed by manager Nigel Pearson permanently in the summer. He was released by Leicester after the "Foxes" retained their Premier League place at the end of the 2014–15 season.

Motherwell

Kennedy initially joined Motherwell on a trial basis, but impressed in pre-season games against Borussia Mönchengladbach and SC Heerenveen to convince boss Ian Baraclough to sign him on a two-year deal on 16 July 2015; in doing so Kennedy rejected the offer of a trial game at Southend United. Kennedy made his first-ever start in competitive football in the Scottish League Cup, in a 3–1 extra time win at East Fife on 25 August. He made his first league start four days later, in a 1–0 victory over Kilmarnock at Fir Park. Stephen McManus remained first-choice centre-back under new manager Mark McGhee, whilst Kennedy competed with Louis Laing and Ben Hall to play alongside him. He went on to feature 25 times for the "Well" during the 2015–16 season, helping the club to a fifth-place finish in the Scottish Premiership. However, after struggling with illness and injuries, he did not make a first-team appearance during the 2016–17 campaign. He left the club by mutual consent…

Kennedy is a right-footed left-sided centre-half who can also play with his left foot and as a left-back, right-back or central defensive midfielder. Port Vale manager John Askey described him as a "footballing centre-half" who combined athletic ability with composure on the ball. Macclesfield coach George Pilkington concurred, saying "he's quick, he's strong in the air, he's aggressive and he's got all the ingredients to go on and kick on again".

He graduated from Staffordshire University in 2022 with a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting. His grandfather, Paddy Kennedy, was one of the "Busby Babes", though he only played a handful of games in a seven-year career for Manchester United, Southampton and Blackburn Rovers.