x

Kamari Doyle The Southampton Starlet Who Found The Grass Not To Be Greener At Brighton

Two years ago Kamari Doyle seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough at Southampton Football Club, but he felt that moving to Brighton to stay in the Premier League might be better than at St Mary's in the Championship.

With Saints already relegated Kamari Doyle was despite still only being 17, bypassing the U18 team and a regular in the U21 side in the Premier League 2, starting 13 games in the second half of the season.

This lead to a place on the bench for the trip to the Amex Stadium in the final weeks of the season and he came off the bench to get 6 minutes under his belt, he was also on the bench for the last game of the season a week later against Liverpool, but this time had to be content with just watching.

But he had showed promise and Southampton supporters wondered whether he might well be a surprise package the following season under Russell Martin.

Just a week after his 18th birthday in August 2023, he was again in 1st team action, coming off the bench at half time in what was a car crash defeat in the Caraboa Cup at Gillingham, Russell Martin seemingly hanging out a few players to dry in this one.

But he was again on the bench for a couple of the Championship fixtures later that month and although he was then back in the U21 squad and playing games, it seemed that he was not happy with his lot at St Mary's turning down an extension to his contract at St Mary's and in the January of 2024 he decided he wanted to move to Brighton. Saints received a reported £1 million as an initial transfer fee plus add ons.

In essence his lot had not improved, he was still playing in the Premier League 2 as he did at St Mary's, but he seemingly though Brighton would offer a better chance of first team football.

But as he turned 19, his hopes of that seemed to diminish and he was shipped out to Exeter City on a season long loan.

Initially he did well at St James Park, but as the season progressed he found himself on the bench more than he was in the starting line up and that led to Brighton recalling him last month, as they felt he was not getting enough game time.

But he wasn't back at the Amex long, he was soon sent out on loan again, this time to local rivals Crawley Town, also in League One, so far the results have been mixed, he was initially a sub in his first 2 League One games and his debut in the starting line up saw him hauled off after 63 minutes.

Since then things have got better, a goal after coming off the bench against Stevenage saw him restored to the starting line up for the two games that have been played after, although again he was taken off in both, albeit in the last 10 minutes this time.

So has Kamari found the grass greener at Brighton than Southampton ? The answer is not so far !

The full details of his transfer to the Seagulls were not disclosed and it is unclear how long that he has left on his contract.

When he arrived all the talk was of him breaking into the Brighton first team, but he is nowhere near that at the moment and he might now be thinking that he might well have made a mistake in leaving.

He will look at his former team mate Tyler Dibling and perhaps think that could have been him, had he stayed at Southampton and battled for a place in the first team.

His future at Brighton is now far from certain and it seems the rough and tumble of League One doesn't suit him as much as the Premier League might have.

What to read next:

Southampton V Brighton The Preview
Can Saints push themselves over the 11 point mark . they have a chance given that the Seagulls are one of only 4 teams who have failed to beat Southampton this season, so perhaps we will have a rare feeling , that of leaving St Mary's happy.
Southampton V Brighton In Pictures Part 2
The second part of our pictorial look at some of the recent visits that the Seagulls have made to St Mary's stadium, how many of them do you remember, give your memories in the comments section below.
Southampton V Brighton In Pictures
Its another South Coast derby, but not the one that really matters, that will take place next season, but in the meantime we take a pictorial look at some of the visits the Seagulls have made to St Mary's stadium to take on Saints. Part 2 will be on Friday.
Have Southampton Fans Finally Lost Faith With The Club
Perhaps the one bright spot of this awful season has been the Saints supporters themselves, they have sold out every game in the Premier League at St Mary's and also travelled in large numbers to away games, but that is starting to change.
Ivan Juric Got One Thing Right At The Weekend With Will Smallbone
Ivan Juric has got most things wrong when it comes to team selections, substitutions and tactics since he has been at Southampton, he did so again against Bournemouth, but he did get one thing right !
Southampton V Bournemouth The Verdict
Southampton supporters turned up in their usual big numbers and were once again treated to the same type of display that they have watched all season, yet another defeat at St Mary's due to poor defending.
Southampton V Bournemouth The Preview
Saints take on the Cherries in the New Forest derby, although given the name, most Southampton fans care more about who has the best trees in their half of the forest, than how Bournemouth are doing.
Southampton V Bournemouth In Pictures Part 2
The second part of our pictorial view of the Cherries visit to St Mary's takes us from 2018 up to the present day, how many of the games and the players who took part, do you remember, give your memories in the comments section below.
Southampton V Bournemouth In Pictures
The first of a two part pictorial view of The Cherries visits to St Mary's in the last decade, there have been so many players who have come and gone over the past 10 years, there will be a few forgotten faces, how many will you remember after this memory jog.
Are Things Far From Ok In The Southampton Camp ?
The win at Ipswich last weekend, prompted hope that Ivan Juric was finally moving his team in the right direction, but the days following that win have perhaps exposed frictions that seem to lie within the camp.