The Italo-Nigerian sensation Michael Kayode who plays for Brentford has been turning heads on in the Premier League. Here he reflects on his Yoruba roots, his transition from Juventus to the Premier League, and how he turned a “gym joke” into one of the most feared long throws in professional football.

As Brentford continues its hunt for European football—sitting proudly in 7th—Kayode opens up about his Nigerian heritage and the “family spirit” driving this historic season.

Born in the small Italian town of Gattico to Nigerian parents, the 21-year-old wing-back has become the personification of Brentford’s soaring ambition this season.

As the Bees sit proudly in 7th position—nipping at the heels of Chelsea and Liverpool—Kayode represents a powerful new chapter in the long-standing tradition of Nigerian-rooted talent dominating English shores.

“My time at Brentford has been amazing—I didn’t expect that it was going to be like this in the beginning,” Michael says with the easy smile of a man who has found his home.

“Obviously, when you come to a different country—to a new country—you think it’s not going to be easy. But when I joined the club, everything was very, very simple.”

“So, I’m so happy about that. It’s already been one year and one month, and it has gone very quick; I already love this place.”

Michael’s footballing education began at the highest level, joining Juventus at the age of six, though the path to professional stardom was anything but a straight line.

“I started with other sports because my father and also my brother were watching a lot of football. They love football. But I started with swimming.”

“After that, I moved to athletics, and then football. Every time I watched the Olympics, I saw Usain Bolt and it was just too easy for him to win.”

“When I was a child, I always loved to run, so I was thinking, ‘Yeah, maybe I could do this.’ When I saw him in the Olympics, I was trying to do the 100m.”

“To be fair, the move to football wasn’t coming from my brother or my dad because they said, ‘Do whatever you want.’ I remember this because I was at athletics, and after you finish your running, you wait for your parents. It was a small gym with a football pitch. So I was waiting and I tried to kick the ball for the first time.”

“I scored a very good goal, and I was thinking like, ‘Let’s do this.’ It’s my dad’s fault for being late picking you up! That’s how I ended up playing football; it was all natural, and I felt the passion for this since the first time I kicked the ball.”

The dedication required was immense even as a child.

“I think I was spotted at a small tournament; it was my old club, Borgomanero, and we had a tournament with Juventus and AC Milan.”

“To join Juventus when I was six or seven years old was incredible,

“After school, I’d go straight home and then pick up the bus. Training was an hour and a half, then two or three hours back. I’d get home at 10 pm. or 11 pm four or five times a week, plus the game on Saturday or Sunday.”

“My parents were so happy and proud to be there; they never felt bothered to do two hours every time to go to the stadium. It was seven years with Juventus. To keep that standard high, you have to have a good mentality when you’re a kid.”

“I was so nervous because obviously I was so little. When we went out and saw the stadium for the first time—obviously I had seen it from the stands, but on the pitch, it is completely different.”

However, the road to the Premier League required a detour through the mud and grit of Serie D with Gozzano after he was released by Juventus—a move Michael calls one of the best experiences of his life.

“Playing at 16 with older men is crazy because you usually think about enjoying it, not having the mentality to be focused on a league. If you play in the fourth division in Italy, the players there have kids and families.”

His resilience paid off when Fiorentina came calling, where he eventually won the Italian Golden Boy award in 2024 and reached back-to-back Conference League finals.

“I think that came because I was always working so hard for everything. To reach this was amazing. Obviously, it was so bad to not even win one final, but I always take the good points.”

“The experience was incredible. Everyone was in a white shirt. Just to be there thinking ‘maybe in two hours we could win a trophy’. But we got unlucky because they scored in the 116th minute. Life is life, so you have to go again.”

That “go again” attitude eventually led him to West London, where he has flourished under the guidance of Thomas Frank and now Keith Andrews.

“The first time they called me, I was so happy because everyone in their career wants to play in the Premier League.

As Michael looks toward a 2026 that could include a World Cup call-up and potentially firing Brentford into European competition for the first time, he remains grounded in the present.

“I really think getting Brentford into Europe is a possibility. But I don’t like to think about it too much because we have to see in May. I think game by game.”