Isaac Vassell

Isaac Cleveland Vassell (born 9 September 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Cardiff City. He previously played in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle, Luton Town and Birmingham City and in non-league football for Truro City, Bideford and Weymouth.

Isaac Vassell
Vassell warming up for Birmingham City, October 2017
Personal information
Full name Isaac Cleveland Vassell[1]
Date of birth (1993-09-09) 9 September 1993[2]
Place of birth Newquay, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)[3]
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Cardiff City
Number 14
Youth career
2005–2011 Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Plymouth Argyle 6 (0)
2012 → Truro City (loan) 6 (0)
2012 → Bideford (loan)
2014 → Weymouth (loan) 12 (5)
2014–2016 Truro City 79 (22)
2016–2017 Luton Town 42 (10)
2017–2019 Birmingham City 23 (1)
2019– Cardiff City 2 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:05, 18 August 2019 (UTC)

Career

Plymouth Argyle

Born in Newquay, Cornwall,[2] Vassell made his professional debut on the opening day of 2011–12, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Tom Hitchcock in a 1–1 draw with Shrewsbury Town at the New Meadow.[4][5] He joined Truro City on a work experience loan in March 2012 until the end of the season,[6][7] where he made six appearances for the club in the Conference South.[8] Vassell moved to Bideford on loan in August 2012 for three months.[9] He played in two cup matches for Plymouth in 2013–14 before joining Weymouth on loan until the end of the season in March 2014.[10]

Truro City

After his release from Plymouth at the end of 2013–14, Vassell returned to Truro City, and after scoring two goals in a 5–0 friendly win over Godolphin Atlantic on 11 July 2014, he signed for the club the following day.[11]

Luton Town

Vassell signed for League Two club Luton Town on a one-year contract on 23 July 2016 after a successful trial.[12] He made his debut as a substitute in a 3–1 win at home to newly relegated Championship club Aston Villa in the EFL Cup first round on 10 August.[13] After entering 13 of his first 16 matches as a substitute, Vassell forced his way into the starting lineup on a regular basis, and scored his first goal for Luton in a 2–0 win away to Morecambe on 19 November.[13][14] Vassell scored the winning goal in Luton's 3–2 win away to Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy second round on 6 December, ensuring their progression to the third round.[15] Luton exercised the option of a one-year extension to his contract on 20 December to keep him at the club until the summer of 2018, having made 23 appearances and scored two goals up to that point in 2016–17.[16] He scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win at home to Cambridge United on 28 January 2017, which marked the start of a run of five goals from four matches.[13][17] Vassell scored Luton's third goal in a 4–1 win away to Accrington Stanley on 29 April, a result that confirmed their place in the play-offs.[18] He scored Luton's second goal in their 3–2 defeat away to Blackpool in the play-off semi-final first leg,[19] and played in the 3–3 home draw in the second leg, meaning Luton lost the tie 6–5 on aggregate.[20] Vassell finished 2016–17 with 53 appearances and 14 goals.[13] He scored twice on the opening day of 2017–18 in an 8–2 victory at home to Yeovil Town, but departed the club later that month having made 55 appearances and scored 16 goals.[21]

Birmingham City

On 14 August 2017, Harry Redknapp signed Vassell for Championship club Birmingham City on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[22] reported by the Birmingham Mail as "over £1 million".[23] He made his debut the following day in a 0–0 draw with Bolton Wanderers at St Andrew's, coming on as a substitute for Clayton Donaldson in the 73rd minute.[24] Making his first start in the EFL Cup at home to AFC Bournemouth, he was prevented from scoring after rounding the goalkeeper only by Tyrone Mings' "desperate backheel".[25] A hamstring injury forced Vassell off at half-time, but not before his manager was impressed:

He's got the ability to be a real player, there's no doubt about that. I've been really excited by what I've seen of him. He's powerful, he's strong and that pace is just electric. This kid is on the shoulder and away he goes. He's got this terrible habit, when he loses the ball he chases and tries to get it back – It's terrible isn't it? They normally stand around and watch like 'I've lost the ball', but this kid chases after it. I said to him: 'Whatever you do, don't ever stop doing that'. That's a big part of his game.[26]

Vassell returned to the team as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat at home to Preston North End on 16 September, after which Redknapp was sacked. Two weeks later, under the caretaker management of Lee Carsley, Vassell scored his first goal for Birmingham on 27 September at home to Sheffield Wednesday, when he ran onto Jacques Maghoma's through ball to give his team just their second win of the season.[27][28] When Steve Cotterill took over as manager, he put Vassell straight into his starting eleven.[29] On his third league start, in the derby against Aston Villa on 29 October, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and was out for the rest of the season.[30][31] A hip injury the following August delayed his recovery,[32] and he was unable to return to first-team action until 14 months after the original incident, coming on for the last few minutes of a 2–1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough in January 2019.[33] He finished that season wth 14 appearances, all but two as a substitute, and did not score.[8]

Cardiff City

Vassell signed a three-year contract with Championship club Cardiff City on 8 August 2019; the fee was undisclosed.[34] He made his debut two days later as a substitute during a 2–1 victory over Luton Town, scoring the winning goal in injury time.[35] After making three appearances, it was announced that Vassell was ruled out for up to two months due to a thigh injury suffered in an under-23's games.[36]

Personal life

Vassell is a cousin of former Aston Villa, Manchester City, Leicester City and England striker Darius Vassell.[22]

Career statistics
As of match played 27 August 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Plymouth Argyle 2011–12[37] League Two 6020000080
2012–13[38] League Two 0000000000
2013–14[39] League Two 0010100020
Total 60301000100
Truro City (loan) 2011–12[8] Conference South 60———60
Weymouth (loan) 2013–14[40] Southern League Premier Division 125———125
Truro City 2014–15[40] Southern League Premier Division 401310—8[lower-alpha 1]34916
2015–16[40] National League South 39920—4[lower-alpha 2]34512
Total 792230—1269428
Luton Town 2016–17[13] League Two 40820209[lower-alpha 3]65314
2017–18[31] League Two 22—00—22
Total 42102020965516
Birmingham City 2017–18[31] Championship 910010—101
2018–19[41] Championship 1400000—140
2019–20[42] Championship 00—00—00
Total 2310010—241
Cardiff City 2019–20[42] Championship 210010—31
2020–21[43] Championship 000000—00
Total 210010—31
Career total 170398050211220451
  1. Four appearances and two goals in Southern League Cup, two appearances in FA Trophy, two appearances and one goal in Southern League Premier Division play-offs
  2. Appearances in FA Trophy
  3. Seven appearances and five goals in EFL Trophy, two appearances and one goal in League Two play-offs

References
  1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Birmingham City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 5. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. "Isaac Vassell". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. "Isaac Vassell". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  4. "Shrewsbury Town 1–1 Plymouth Argyle". Sky Sports. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  5. "Apprentice Vassell handed debut". Plymouth Herald. 7 August 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  6. "Plymouth Argyle's Isaac Vassell joins Truro City". BBC Sport. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  7. Larkins, Simon (14 March 2012). "Truro City sign Darius Vassell's nephew". Falmouth Packet. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  8. "I. Vassell: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  9. Parsons, Chris (31 August 2012). "Vass joins Bideford". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  10. Errington, Chris (14 March 2014). "Argyle pair Jamie Richards and Isaac Vassell make loan moves to Weymouth". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  11. Errington, Chris (13 July 2014). "Isaac Vassell signs for Truro City after leaving Plymouth Argyle". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  12. "Isaac Vassell: Luton sign former Plymouth and Truro City striker". BBC Sport. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  13. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  14. Simmonds, Mike (19 November 2016). "Vassell off the mark as classy Hatters win at Shrimps". Luton Today. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  15. Cunliffe, James (6 December 2016). "Match report: Much-changed Luton Town deservedly defeat Swindon to progress in Trophy". Bedfordshire on Sunday. Bedford. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017.
  16. "Isaac Vassell: Luton Town striker signs new deal with League Two side". BBC Sport. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  17. "Luton Town 2–0 Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  18. "Accrington Stanley 1–4 Luton Town". BBC Sport. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  19. Middleton, Nathan (14 May 2017). "Blackpool 3–2 Luton Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  20. Mitchell, Brendon (18 May 2017). "Luton Town 3–3 Blackpool (agg: 5–6)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  21. Simmonds, Mike (14 August 2017). "Hatters agree to sell Vassell to Birmingham". Luton Today. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  22. "Isaac Vassell: Birmingham City sign striker on four-year deal from Luton". BBC Sport. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  23. Dicken, Alex (17 August 2017). "A revealing insight into Birmingham City striker Isaac Vassell by his boyhood mentor". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  24. "Birmingham City 0–0 Bolton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  25. Payne, Ned (22 August 2017). "Cherries fight back to sink Birmingham in Carabao Cup". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  26. James, Stuart (23 August 2017). "Harry Redknapp had this to say about former Plymouth Argyle youngster Isaac Vassell". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  27. "Birmingham City 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  28. "Report: Birmingham 1–0 Wednesday". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  29. Dick, Brian (13 October 2017). "Birmingham City 1 Cardiff City 0: Full-time report as Che Adams' strike gives Steve Cotterill first win". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  30. "Isaac Vassell: Birmingham City striker may miss rest of Blues season". BBC Sport. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  31. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  32. Ireland, Shane (27 August 2018). "Boss makes admission about Birmingham City as striker issues message". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  33. "Norwich vs Birmingham preview: Championship clash live on Sky Sports Football". Sky Sorts. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  34. "Isaac Vassell: Cardiff City sign Birmingham City striker". BBC Sport. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  35. "Cardiff City 2–1 Luton Town". BBC Sport. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  36. "Isaac Vassell: Cardiff City forward out for up to two months". BBC Sport. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  37. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  38. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  39. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  40. "Player profiles: Isaac Vassell". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  41. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  42. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  43. "Games played by Isaac Vassell in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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