Kai McKenzie-Lyle

Last updated

Kai McKenzie-Lyle
Personal information
Full name Kai John Oliver Milton McKenzie-Lyle [1]
Date of birth (1997-11-30) 30 November 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Haringey, England
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) [2]
Position Goalkeeper
Youth career
Tottenham Hotspur
2011–2014 Barnet
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2018 Barnet 1 (0)
2016 → Cockfosters (loan) 8 (0)
2017 → St Ives Town (loan) 6 (0)
2017–2018 → Hayes & Yeading United (loan) 7 (0)
2018–2020 Liverpool 0 (0)
2020–2022 Cambridge United 1 (0)
2022 → Chelmsford City (loan) 9 (0)
2022–2023 Welling United 16 (0)
2024 Folkestone Invicta 13 (0)
2024–2025 Oxford City 27 (0)
2025 Welling United 3 (0)
International career‡
2016– Guyana 13 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:15, 31 October 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:37, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

Kai John Oliver Milton McKenzie-Lyle (born 30 November 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he represents Guyana at international level.

Contents

Club career

Barnet

McKenzie-Lyle joined Tottenham Hotspur as under-10, before he moved to Barnet as an under-14 and progressed through the club's academy to become first choice keeper for the under-18s, [3] and made his senior debut with a start in a 3–0 Herts Senior Cup defeat to Bishop's Stortford on 21 January 2014. [4] He first appeared on the bench in the league in October 2014. [5] He made his English Football League debut on 12 September 2015 in a 3–1 League Two away defeat by Portsmouth, [6] coming on as a substitute for John Akinde after regular goalkeeper Jamie Stephens had been sent-off. [7] McKenzie-Lyle joined St Ives Town in August 2017 on loan. [8] He then joined Hayes & Yeading United on loan in December 2017. [9]

Liverpool

McKenzie-Lyle joined Liverpool on trial in July 2018. [10] He then signed for the Reds the following month. [11] McKenzie-Lyle was released in June 2020, having played just twice for the under-23s in Premier League 2. [12]

Cambridge United

On 1 September 2020, McKenzie-Lyle joined League Two club Cambridge United on a two-year deal. [13] On 25 March 2022, Chelmsford City announced the signing of McKenzie-Lyle on loan. [14]

McKenzie-Lyle was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season. [15]

Non-league

McKenzie-Lyle joined Welling United in August 2022. [5]

On 6 February 2024, Mckenzie-Lyle joined Isthmian League Premier Division club Folkestone Invicta. [16]

McKenzie-Lyle joined Oxford City for the 2024-25 season. [17]

On 30 September 2025, McKenzie-Lyle returned to Welling United, now of the Isthmian League Premier Division. [18] He departed the club one month later having made three appearances. [19]

International career

McKenzie-Lyle was called up to Guyana's squad for their third round matches of 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification, [20] after being alerted to his eligibility by Jack Thorpe, a researcher for the Football Manager game. [21] He made an unusual international debut for a goalkeeper, [22] scoring a header in the 120th minute of a 3–2 loss against Suriname. [23] On his second appearance he saved a penalty against Jamaica. [24]

Personal life

McKenzie-Lyle's younger brother Renell (born 2000) is also a goalkeeper and product of the youth system at Barnet. [25]

Career statistics

Club

As of 31 October 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup League Cup OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barnet 2013–14 [4] Conference Premier 0000―1 [a] 010
2014–15 [26] 0000―1 [a] 010
2015–16 [6] League Two 1000000010
2016–17 [27] [28] 0000001 [b] 010
2017–18 [29] [30] 0000001 [b] 010
Total1000004050
Cockfosters (loan) 2015–16 [31] Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division80――0080
St Ives Town (loan) 2017–18 [26] Southern League Premier Division6000――60
Hayes & Yeading United (loan) 2017–18 [26] Southern League First Division East70――1 [c] 080
Liverpool 2018–19 [5] Premier League 0000000000
2019–20 [5] 0000000000
Total0000000000
Cambridge United 2020–21 [32] League Two0000000000
2021–22 [33] League One1000004 [d] 050
Total1000004050
Chelmsford City (loan) 2021–22 [5] National League South 9000—0090
Welling United 2022–23 [5] National League South16030—6 [e] 0250
Folkestone Invicta 2023–24 [34] Isthmian League Premier Division13000—00130
Oxford City 2024–25 [5] National League North 27000—4 [f] 0310
Welling United 2025–26 [35] Isthmian League Premier Division3000—0030
Career total91030002101250
  1. 1 2 Appearance in Herts Senior Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearance in Middlesex Senior Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance in Southern League Challenge Cup
  4. ↑ Appearance in the EFL Trophy
  5. ↑ Two appearances in the FA Trophy, three appearances in the Kent Senior Cup, one appearance in the London Senior Cup
  6. ↑ Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

International

As of match played 20 June 2023 [22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Guyana 201621
201700
201830
202140
202200
202340
Total131
Scores and results list Guyana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McKenzie-Lyle goal.
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
18 October 2016 André Kamperveen Stadion, Paramaribo, SurinameFlag of Suriname.svg  Suriname 2–32–3 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification [22]

References

  1. ↑ "Notification of shirt numbers: Cambridge United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 16. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Kai McKenzie-Lyle". Barnet F.C. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Barnet FC Youth Team Profiles". Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Bishop's Stortford FC Match Report" (PDF). www.bsfc.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kai McKenzie-Lyle at Soccerway . Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Portsmouth 3 – 1 Barnet". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Loan | Kai McKenzie-Lyle joins St Ives Town". www.barnetfc.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Loans | McKenzie-Lyle and Amaluzor depart for 28 days". www.barnetfc.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  10. ↑ "6'7" goalkeeper on trial at Liverpool FC this summer". 25 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Liverpool FC – Kai McKenzie-Lyle".
  12. ↑ "Nathaniel Clyne set to leave Reds upon contract expiry". Liverpool FC. 25 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Kai McKenzie-Lyle: Cambridge sign Guyana international and ex-Liverpool goalkeeper". BBC. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "McKenzie-Lyle joins on loan". Chelmsford City F.C. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. ↑ "2022 Retained List". www.cambridge-united.co.uk. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Welcome: Kai McKenzie-Lyle". folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  17. ↑ "Kai McKenzie-Lyle signs for Oxford City". Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "Wings welcome back goalkeeper Kai McKenzie-Lyle". wellingunited.com. 30 September 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  19. ↑ "Squad update: McKenzie-Lyle and Leahy depart". wellingunited.com. 31 October 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  20. ↑ "Jaguars name 22". 1 October 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  21. ↑ O'Donovan, Ryan (14 September 2018). "How McKenzie-Smith made the leap from Barnet to the Premier League". Football.London.
  22. 1 2 3 "Kai McKenzie-Lyle". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  23. ↑ "Caribbean Cup Recap: October 8, 2016 matches". Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  24. ↑ "Late escape!".
  25. ↑ "Renell McKenzie-Lyle". Barnet F.C. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  26. 1 2 3 "Kai Mckenzie Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  28. ↑ Report: Barnet 3-3 Enfield Town (5-6 on pens)
  29. ↑ "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  30. ↑ @BarnetFC (7 November 2017). "⚽️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. ↑ "Kai McKenzie-Lyle – Cockfosters 1st Team". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  32. ↑ "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  33. ↑ "Games played by Kai McKenzie-Lyle in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  34. ↑ "Folkestone Invicta | Appearances | Kai McKenzie-Lyle | 2023-2024 | Football Web Pages".
  35. ↑ "Welling United – Appearances – Kai Mckenzie-Lyle – 2025-2026". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
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