Rekeil Pyke

Born in Leeds,[5] Pyke is a product of the Huddersfield Town Academy.[6] He first joined the club at under-12 level from local junior side Rothwell Juniors.[7] He signed his first professional contract in February 2015, having already represented the under-21 team at the age of 17.[8] He joined National League side Wrexham on a month long loan in November 2016.[9] He made his debut on 29 November in Wrexham's 1–0 defeat at Lincoln City.[10] "Dragons" manager Dean Keates said Pyke "did okay... the physicality was all new to him, a new environment, but there is still a lot more to come from him".[11] After three appearances at the Racecourse Ground, Pyke returned to Huddersfield at the end of his loan spell on 28 December.[7] On 30 January 2017, Pyke joined League Two club Colchester United on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season.[12] He came on as a second-half substitute for Owen Garvan to make his professional debut on 15 February during Colchester's 3–2 defeat to Crawley Town at the Colchester Community Stadium.[13] He made his first start in a 2–0 home victory over Mansfield Town on 14 March, after which "U's" manager John McGreal said he was "delighted" with Pyke, describing him as a "beast of a kid".[14] He failed to score in four league starts and eight substitute appearances for Colchester.[15]

On 11 July 2017, Pyke joined League Two side Port Vale on loan for the entire 2017–18 season.[16] Manager Michael Brown warned fans not to burden the teenager with too much expectation after Pyke scored four goals in his first two pre-season friendly matches.[17] However he struggled to even appear on the first-team bench, and speaking in October, new manager Neil Aspin blamed league rules that prevented him from naming more than five loanees in a matchday squad.[18] He then picked up a hamstring injury in a reserve team game and returned to the Kirklees Stadium for treatment.[19] He was recalled to Huddersfield permanently on 2 January 2018.[20]

On 10 July 2018, he returned to Wrexham on a season-long loan for the 2018–19 season.[21] He signed a new contract at Huddersfield to keep tied to the club until summer 2020.[22] He scored five goals in 27 appearances during his loan spell at Wrexham, being absent from Graham Barrow's first-team only during a six-week spell at Christmas when he was in recovery from a hamstring injury. On 26 January, he was named in the National League team of the day for his man of the match performance in a 1–0 win over Maidenhead United.[23] However he was recalled to Huddersfield four days later; Welsh newspaper The Leader reported that "Pyke's departure is a big blow in Wrexham's push for a top-seven finish".[24]

On 30 January 2019, he moved up two divisions from Wrexham to join struggling League One side Rochdale on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[25] He made three starts and three substitute appearances for the "Dale" by the end of the 2018–19 campaign. On 3 July, he rejoined Rochdale on loan for the whole of the 2019–20 season, with manager Brian Barry-Murphy feeling that his "unique... skills and qualities... [added] a different dimension to our attacking play".[26] Having scored three goals in 20 appearances at Spotland, he was recalled by new Huddersfield manager Danny Cowley on 5 January.[27] Cowley said that with Pyke's contract due to expire in the summer he wanted to assess the player at Huddersfield.[28] He made his Huddersfield debut as a late substitute in a 3–2 defeat at Fulham on 1 February.[29] However this was to prove his only appearance for the "Terriers" before he was released on 24 July 2020.[30]

On 3 August 2020, Pyke joined League One side Shrewsbury Town, signing a three-year deal and reuniting with boss Sam Ricketts who Pyke had played under at Wrexham.[31][4] Just over a month into his Shrewsbury career, Pyke was ruled out for four months due to a thigh injury after being forced off in a 2–1 defeat to Northampton Town at the New Meadow.[32]