Bartley: Kyle Louis (Kyle)

2016-2017 (Player Leeds Details)(Player Details)

Centre Back

Born: Stockport: 22-05-1991

Debut: Queens Park Rangers (a): 07-08-2016

Height & Weight: 6ft 4ins 11st 9lb

Bartley started his football career with Fletcher Moss Rangers and they recommended him first to Manchester United, who did not accept him and then Bolton Wanderers, who accepted him into their Academy where he stayed until he was 15. While there he played five times for the England Under-Sixteen teams, making his debut on 9th November 2006. He also started in the 1-0 win over Spain at Wembley on 28th April 2007, being replaced at half-time by Jack Rodwell. While Bolton could not offer him a certain future Arsene Wenger had no such problems and whilst Bolton hesitated about his future, the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger swiftly offered Kyle a place at Highbury on 31st July 2007, leaving Bolton to rue their procrastination, as he rejected their offer of a scholarship. He quickly settled in at Highbury playing once for the reserves and starting seven and coming on as a substitute once for the Under-Eighteen team, in the 2007-08 season, and went on to captain the Arsenal Reserves and was part of the team that won the Premier Academy League and the FA Youth Cup in 2008-09. He also gained three England Under-Seventeen caps, making his debut for them on 2nd February 2008. Wenger had noted his strength in the tackle and his composed, towering presence, offering support to those around him and his ability to take control of the game. Wenger had few qualms about introducing him into the Arsenal Reserves against Fulham in January 2008, where he performed admirably, despite a 2-0 defeat, and was totally unfazed by the big occasion and being thrown into the limelight. He did, unfortunately he then spent some time on the sidelines due to recurring injuries, but he returned to play for England Under-Seventeens in the Algarve tournament alongside fellow Arsenal teammate and future Leeds loanee, Sanchez Watt. Bartley impressed and helped England win the tournament. There were some criticism of his play in that he doesn’t use his physical presence enough at set- pieces, especially corners. However, other teams are aware of the threat that he poses and act to close him down quickly. He added a new dimension to the Arsenal Under-Eighteen team, forging a good partnership with Thomas Cruise who he played alongside at Youth level. He was rewarded for his fine play with a first team debut on 9th December 2009 in the away defeat by Olympiacos in the Champions League in which he played a full game in Greece. On 9th February 2010 Sheffield United were beset by injury problems and Kevin Blackwell approached Arsenal for help by allowing Barley to go on an emergency three months loan to Bramall Lane. He made his debut for the Blades on 9th February 2010 in a 1-2 defeat at Deepdale by Preston North End in which Bartley played a full game. He went on to make four League starts and also featured four times from the bench before returning to Highbury at the end of the season, after playing a full game on 2nd May 2010 in a 3-0 away win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road. On 1st August 2010 the two clubs again agreed for Bartley to spent a season long loan, but after starting eight League games and coming on as a late substitute in a League Cup game, Bartley fractured his cheek-bone in a head clash with Dele Adebola in the eighty-second minute of the 1-1 away draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on 28th September 2010. This sidelined him for a month, but had gone on to start a total of twenty-one League games and one in the F.A. Cup, as well as the substitute appearance in the League Cup, when on 2nd February 2011 Bartley decided that it was not in his interest that the Blades had signed Neil Collins from Leeds and would hinder his selection and so, as Rangers were interested, he decided to terminate his loan and Micky Adams, the Sheffield United Manager, did not stand in his way. He played his final game for the Blades when he played a full game in the 1-2 home defeat by Norwich City on 22nd January 2011. On 31st January 2011 Bartley was loaned by Arsenal to Rangers for the rest of the season. He made his Scottish League debut for Rangers when he started in the 6-0 home win over Motherwell on 12th February 2011 and played seventy minutes before being replaced by Maurice Edu. He scored his first goal with the only goal of the game in the twenty- fourth minute of the away win at St Mirren on 6th March 2011 and had started five League games, one Scottish Cup and three Europa League games when he was injured in the final minutes of the 0-1 home defeat by PSV Eindhoven on 17th March 2011, when he clashed with Eindhoven keeper Andreas Isaksson and sustained a grade three medial ligament tear. As he was expected to need three months to recover, it was the end of his loan spell at Ibrox. He signed a new contract with Arsenal on 3rd August 2011, and the next day he went on a season long loan to Rangers. He saw out the contract with the Glasgow club, starting eighteen Scottish League games and coming off the bench once and also started two games in the Scottish Cup. The centre back was promoted to the Arsenal first-team squad in the summer of 2012 but competition was fierce with the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny ahead of him. On 16th August 2012 Swansea City saw the situation and signed him on a three year contract and paid Arsenal £1 Million. He made his Swansea debut on 28th August 2012, when he played a full game at right back in a 3-1 home win over Barnsley in the League Cup. A thigh injury in September 2012 ruled him out for three months. He had to wait until January 2013 for his next games, when he started in two F. A. Cup ties and it was not until 9th February 2013 that he made his League debut as a thirty-third minute substitute for Chico at right back in a 4-1 home win over Queens Park Rangers. He retained his spot for the next game a 5-0 thrashing at Anfield by Liverpool on 17th February 2013 before Ashley Williams took over. On 2nd July 2013 Birmingham City signed Bartley on a season-long loan. It proved a good move as he could not get a place in the Swansea City line-up and gained valuable playing time at Birmingham. He made his Birmingham debut in a 0-1 home defeat by Watford on 3rd August 2013, when he played the full game. He featured regularly for the Blues and also often found his name on the scoresheet. His first goal came in his second game for his new club three days after his debut when he scored the winner two minutes into injury time in a 3-2 home win over Plymouth Argyle in the League Cup. His second was also in the League Cup, when he opened the scoring in the twentieth minute of a 3-3 draw, after extra-time, at Yeovil Town, which Birmingham took out 3-2 on penalties. The other three were all in the League, with the first two coming in the 3-1 win at Huddersfield Town on 9th November 2013 in an eventful match for him as he scored the final two goals for the Blues in the sixty-sixth and eighty-first minutes, before being sent off a minute after his second goal. His other goal came in his very next game, after his suspension, when he scored in the final minute to equalise in a 2-2 home draw with Middlesbrough on 7th December 2013. However, after starting fourteen and coming off the bench three times in the League and starting twice in the League Cup, he played his final game for Birmingham on 28th January 2014 in a 1-2 home defeat by Leicester City. Upon Garry Monk's appointment as head coach, he was recalled to the Liberty Stadium. He made three appearances before the end of the season, the first in a 1-3 loss to Everton at Goodison Park in the F.A. Cup on 16th February 2014, which he started but was replaced after thirty-one minutes by Ashley Williams after he suffered a hamstring injury. He did, however recover to play in two highly important relegation battles, with a one minute appearance in the 2-1 win at Newcastle United on 19th April 2014 and a full game in a 3-1 win at Sunderland on 11th May 2014. While never a regular at Swansea and spending much of his time on the bench he started twelve League games and came off the bench on four occasions and started six F.A. Cup and four League Cup ties. On 5th July 2014 he signed a three year contract with the Swans. On 1st July 2016 he rejoined his former head coach, Garry Monk, when he signed a season-long contract with Leeds United. Barclay commented “I want to come here and play week-in, week-out in what we hope will be a really successful season for the club.” Leeds boss Garry Monk commented: “I’m delighted to get Kyle in. Kyle has worked underneath me for the last two years and I know him very well - I know what he’s capable of. I think defence is an area where we need to add strength to the quality that we already have. Kyle has worked with me and he knows how I work, so that helps. I think he’s at a stage of his career where he wants to prove himself and try and fight for a place. He’s big, he’s strong and he’s a very good defender. He’s a good leader, he talks very well, he’s a good organiser and a good communicator. All of those things will help the squad.” He soon established himself as being one of the two central defenders likely to be regulars. He went on the tour of Ireland with the first team squad and,with Liam Cooper being unavailable, he was paired with Toumani Diagouraga in the first match in 2-1 win over Shelbourne at Tolka Park on 13th July 2016. The starting eleven played the first sixty minutes to be replaced by a new eleven, that played the final thirty minutes. Three days later he partnered Souleymane Bamba as United defeated Shamrock Rovers 3-0 at Tallaght Park, and he was replaced by Paul McKay at the Half-Time break. He was again partnered with Bamba on 23rd August 2016, playing a full game as United went down 1-2 to Peterborough United at London Road. He again partnered Bamba, with Cooper unavailable, in United's final pre-season game in a 2-1 win over Serie A side Atalanta at Elland Road on 30th July 2016. He made his League debut in a 0-3 defeat at Loftus Road by Queens Park Rangers in the opening game of the League season on 7th August 2016 in tandem with Souleymane Bamba, but in the League Cup win at Fleetwood Town three days later, he had Liam Cooper as his partner to start with but he was replaced by Souleymane Bamba at half-time. He again had Bamba as his partner in the 1-2 home defeat by Birmingham City on 13th August 2016 and three days later it was again Liam Cooper in a 1-1 home draw with Fulham. This partnership prevailed for the next game on 20th August 2016 as United beat Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough for United's first League win of the season. Like most regulars, Bartley was rested for the 1-0 League Cup win at Luton Town three days later. It seemed that the central defensive partnership was going to be Bartley and Cooper as Bamba left the club on 31st August, leaving the only other candidate as Pontus Jonsson. While Liam Cooper had a poor season due to injuries it was mainly Bartley and Jonsson in tandem in central defence with help from Bartley's co-central defender from his Arsenal days, Luke Ayling at Right Back or as backup in central defence. In the absence of Liam Bridcutt and Liam Cooper, Bartley often also captained the side. He missed just one League game, at Aston Villa, on 29th December 2016 and "chipped in" with six goals in the League to add to his value to the club in an exceptional season. There was hope that the club may have been able to buy him on a permanent basis, but it was not to be. On 9th August 2017 he signed a new four year contract with Swansea.