Kieran Agard


Kieran Ricardo Agard is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League One club Milton Keynes Dons.

Early life

Agard was born in Newham in London and is of Jamaican, Vincentian and Dominican descent.

Club career

Everton

Agard started in the Arsenal academy before moving to Everton in the 2005–06 season. He played for the club's under-18 team, before moving into the reserve team, becoming the reserve team player of the year in 2008–09.
His first team debut came in a 4–0 away win at Hull City in a League Cup match in September 2009. He made his Premier League debut against Chelsea, coming on as a substitute for Louis Saha in stoppage time. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he was released by Everton along with goalkeeper Iain Turner and Hope Akpan after their contracts with the club expired.
On 6 January 2011, he joined Peterborough United on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season, but after playing just once, in the FA Cup, a change of management left Agard surplus to requirements and the loan was cut short.
On 31 January 2011 Agard joined Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock, also on loan. and made his debut in the Scottish Premier League as Kilmarnock lose to Hibernian 2–1 on 12 February 2011 before scoring his first goal in Scotland against Hearts in a 2–2 draw on 30 April 2011.

Yeovil Town

Agard, following his release from Everton, signed a one-year deal with Yeovil Town on 22 June 2011. The club's management was first alerted to Agard's availability after asking fans to suggest signings on Twitter, to which Agard became known as football's first 'twansfer'.
He scored his first two goals for the Glovers in a 3–2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on 17 September 2011. He then went on to score against Bury and Leyton Orient, also winning two penalties for his team. He also scored a winner against Wycombe Wanderers, but was sent off against Colchester United a week later. His next goal was in the 3 – 2 win over Chesterfield at Huish Park. He finished the season with 29 appearances in the league, and 6 goals. On 8 May 2012, Agard was released from Yeovil Town after just one year at the club.

Rotherham United

After being released by Yeovil Town, it was revealed that Rotherham were interested in Agard. They were initially unable to agree terms with the player, but he eventually featured in a pre-season match against Doncaster Rovers as part of a trial. On 27 July an agreement was reached for Agard to sign for Rotherham.
Agard scored his first goal for the club on 27 October, in a 1–0 win against Plymouth Argyle. In December, he scored in successive games against AFC Wimbledon and Port Vale.
In April 2013, Agard scored in three successive wins against Fleetwood Town, Bradford City and Plymouth Argyle, contributing greatly to the clubs' automatic promotion to League One later that month.
He scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season on 17 August, in a 2–1 win against Crawley Town, before scoring in successive wins against Notts County and Sheffield United.
Agard scored his first ever cup goal on 8 October, in a 3–0 victory away to York City in the Football League Trophy. On 18 April, he scored a hat-trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 6–4 defeat. During May 2014, Agard won the League 1 player of the month award for April, after a run of scoring 5 goals in 6 games.
During the 2013/14 season, Agard scored 26 goals in all competitions, with Agard finishing the 3rd top scorer in League 1 behind Sam Baldock and Britt Assombalonga with 21 of his 26 goals coming in League 1, his goals helped Rotherham reach the League 1 playoff final. Agard played in the final, and after a 2–2 draw, Rotherham earned promotion after beating Leyton Orient 4–3 on penalties to earn a second successive promotion.
At the end of the 2013/14 season, Agard was out of contract, however on 9 July 2014, Rotherham exercised an option in Agard's contract to extend it for another year. Agard turned down Rotherham's offer to extend his contract beyond the year option that was exercised by the club.
On 9 August 2014, Agard started for Rotherham in their opening fixture of The Championship season in a 1–0 defeat against Derby County. On 15 August, Leeds United had a bid accepted for Agard, however, after holding talks with Leeds and unable to agree personal terms, the move fell through.

Bristol City

On 21 August 2014, Agard signed for League One side Bristol City for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £750,000.
With Bristol City Agard won the 2015
League One and Football League Trophy titles.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 11 August 2016, Agard joined League One side Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed, club-record transfer fee. On 13 August 2016, Agard made his debut for the club, scoring twice in a 2–2 home draw with Millwall. On 30 December 2016, Agard score twice in a 3–2 home league win against Swindon Town.
Following relegation from League One with the club at the end of the 2017–18 season, Agard played a key role in the club's following successful season in League Two, finishing top scorer with 22 goals in all competitions as the team secured a third-place finish and promotion back to League One. He signed a new contract with the club in June 2019.

International career

Born in England, Agard is also eligible to play for Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica due to his heritage.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Rotherham United
Bristol City
Milton Keynes Dons