| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kyle Christopher Hurst [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 April 2002 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Milton Keynes, England | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, [3] forward [4] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Queen's Park (on loan from Doncaster Rovers) | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Milton Keynes Dons | |||
| 20??–2020 | Birmingham City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Birmingham City | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Alvechurch (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2022– | Doncaster Rovers | 87 | (11) |
| 2025– | → Queen's Park (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:11, 16 February 2025 (UTC) | |||
Kyle Christopher Hurst (born 20 January 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Scottish Championship club Queen's Park, on loan from EFL League Two club Doncaster Rovers. He began his football career as a youngster with Milton Keynes Dons before joining Birmingham City at 16 and turning professional two years later. He had a loan spell with Southern League club Alvechurch in early 2022, but never played first-team football for Birmingham, and left the club for Doncaster Rovers in July 2022.
Hurst was born in Milton Keynes, [5] and was a youth player with Milton Keynes Dons before taking up a two-year scholarship with Birmingham City in July 2018. [2] [6] According to coach Steve Spooner, Hurst is "a wonderful technician. He has great dribbling skills, great receiving skills. Very attack-minded and can deliver good crosses, but he must become more consistent with his end product." [6]
On his first competitive start for Birmingham's development squad team, in September 2018, Hurst scored the second goal of a 4–0 win against Sheffield Wednesday U23. [7] He scored in the semi-final of the 2019 Professional Development League (PDL) play-offs against Ipswich Town, and started in the final, but had been substituted by the time Birmingham lost to Leeds United U23 in a penalty shoot-out. [8] [9] The following season, he scored an 86th-minute winning goal that took Birmingham into the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup despite having had two players sent off; according to the report on the club's website, he "flicked the ball over an opponent, darted on into the area behind the defensive line and cracked a half-volley that went in off the post." [10] Hurst was given a first-team squad number in 2020, but a hamstring issue prevented any involvement with the matchday squad, and he signed his first professional contract, of three years with the option of a fourth, in June 2020. [3] He again helped Birmingham U23 qualify for the PDL play-offs in 2021, and played the whole of the semi-final win away to Bristol City, [11] but was an unused substitute as his side beat Sheffield United to gain promotion to Premier League 2 for 2021–22. [12]
Hurst scored four goals from 17 appearances for Birmingham's U23 team in the 2021–22 Premier League 2 season. [13] He joined Southern League Premier Division Central club Alvechurch in mid-February 2022 on loan until the end of the season. [14] He made his debut in senior football on 12 February, starting in a 1–1 draw away to Tamworth, [15] and made three more appearances before returning to his parent club. [16]
After a trial in which Hurst played in several pre-season friendlies for Doncaster Rovers, [17] he signed a two-year contract with the League Two club on 22 July 2022. [18] He made his club and Football League debut on the opening day of the 2022–23 season, playing 82 minutes of a goalless draw away to Bradford City before being substituted immediately after receiving a yellow card. [19] Hurst continued in the starting eleven, and scored his first senior goals in his fifth league match, a 20-yard (18 m) chip over the goalkeeper and a powerful shot high to his near post, to complete Doncaster's comeback from 1–0 down against Salford City. [20] On 1 March 2023, by which time he had seven goals from 36 appearances in all competitions, he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the club. [21]
Having been almost ever-present in 2022–23, [22] injury kept Hurst out of the new season until 9 September. [23] [24]
By the middle of the 2024–25 season, Hurst had lost his first-team place. His contract with Doncaster was extended to run until June 2026, and he joined Scottish Championship club Queen's Park on loan for the remainder of the season. [25] He made his debut on 9 February, replacing Seb Drozd in the starting eleven for the Scottish Cup fifth round match against Rangers at Ibrox Park. [26] He came close to opening the scoring in the second half before being replaced by Drozd, who gave Queen's Park the lead two minutes later. [26] Seven minutes into stoppage time, Rangers were awarded a penalty kick, which was saved by Calum Ferrie to inflict what was Rangers' first Scottish Cup defeat to lower league opponents since 1967 and only such defeat at home. [26] [27]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Birmingham City | 2021–22 [28] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Alvechurch (loan) | 2021–22 [16] | Southern League Premier Division Central | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Doncaster Rovers | 2022–23 [22] | League Two | 45 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [b] | 1 | 50 | 7 |
| 2023–24 [24] | League Two | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 [c] | 2 | 30 | 4 | |
| 2024–25 [29] | League Two | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 [b] | 1 | 28 | 4 | |
| Total | 87 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 108 | 15 | ||
| Queen's Park (loan) | 2024–25 [29] | Scottish Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Career total | 92 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 114 | 15 | ||