A familiar face is back at Brunton Park this summer as Rotherham forward Josh Kayode returns to pick up where he left off, having notched three goals in his five appearances with the Blues, having joined on a half-season loan during the January transfer window.
Speaking about the move, the young forward said: “It’s great to be back, to be fair. We’ve been trying to get it done for a week or two now, and I’m just happy it’s over the line.
“It’s been on my mind for quite a few months because I just want to get out and play games. Obviously this helps me to develop and hopefully I can help the team as well, because we want to push for promotion.”
Looking back to one of the last things he did when he was wearing a United shirt – a confident finish from the penalty in the home victory over Newport County – he told us: “It’s a great memory and it’s a shame the lockdown ended the season too early, but we just want to pick up from where we left off now.
“For me personally, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as was for me when I came here. The injury killed me a little bit, and obviously the virus came along as well, but it was a great experience and I just want it to be an even better experience this season.
“The Mansfield game summed it up. That was an unbelievable day and you could see from the celebration how much that goal meant. I’m looking for more moments like that this season.
“I felt really confident through it all and that’s down to the lads because they made me feel so welcome. When you think about it, I hadn’t been here for that long before I took that penalty, but I had the belief in myself.
“And the fans have been unreal. They’ve really got behind me and I’m not really used to things like that. Some have been asking me to come back – it was always going to happen but I just had to keep it quiet, didn’t I.”
His return to Carlisle brings with it an added sense of competition for starting places as the squad really starts to come together.
“There are no guarantees at all, there’s some real competition,” he agreed. “We’ve got some good players so I’m just going to have to work as hard as I can to get into the starting eleven.
“The gaffer has spoken to me and he’s told me he wants to see exactly the same as last season, and a bit more. Obviously he wants more goals, and hopefully I’ll get them for him.
“It’s just really exciting to be here. I’m the same as everybody else, I can’t wait to get started. I feel fit so with a few games I’ll have my match fitness up and I can push on.
“I’m here for the full season and the manager has put his faith in me with that. It was a no-brainer for me to come back. Rotherham were happy for it to happen and they’ve told me to work hard and be the best that I can be.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to be the best that I can be every day in training and for every match day.”
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