Michael Kightly

Michael John Kightly (born 24 January 1986 in Basildon) is an England Association football, currently playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. in the Football League Championship.

Early years

Kightly started out as a schoolboy for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., but was released and subsequently picked up by his hometown team, non-league Basildon United F.C.. His stay was short and he was soon back in professional football playing for Southend United F.C., where he made his league debut on 3 May 2003 in a 1-0 defeat at Exeter City F.C..

Although featuring in all their cup games of this time, he made only 13 league appearances over 3 different seasons for them. He was loaned out to Farnborough Town F.C. in October 2004 and released at the end of the season by Southend United F.C. manager Steve Tilson.

Grays Athletic

Conference National side Grays Athletic F.C. signed Kightly, where he scored 15 league goals in his first season, and won the FA Trophy. He began the 2006-07 season still with Grays, and had scored 10 goals by November. Such form caught the eye of scouts at Football League Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., to whom he completed a two-month emergency loan move on 17 November 2006.

He would subsequently return to play against Grays Athletic F.C. for Wolves in a pre-season friendly, which was a condition of the permament deal later made between the clubs.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Kightly scored his first ever league goal to earn a 1-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers F.C.. His form at Grays Athletic F.C. led him to be dubbed "The Ryan Giggs of non-league football", and it was reported that Sir Alex Ferguson was interested in signing Kightly for Manchester United F.C.. After scoring two goals in five games, his loan move was made permanent when he signed a two-and-a-half year contract for a nominal fee on New Years Day 2007.

He became a first-team regular in the remainder of the season, and his six goals helped the club into a play-off position. His performances made him a fans' favourite, ending up as runner-up for Wolves' Player of the Year 2006-07, losing out to goalkeeper Matt Murray. After missing out on promotion, it was reported that he was being tracked by clubs such as , Charlton Athletic F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C., and .
Kightly ended such speculation though by signing a new four-year deal with Wolves in June 2007.

His first full season with the club though was severely hampered by a persistent ankle injury suffered in November 2007, from which he twice tried to comeback from into first team football, eventually undergoing surgery in February 2008. He finally returned to play in the final 4 fixtures, as the club narrowly missed out on the play-offs on goal difference. He signed a new four-year deal with the club in June 2008.

International career

Kightly was called into the England national under-21 football team squad in August 2007 for a friendly against Romania national under-21 football team and went on to make his debut, playing the first half of the game.

Honours

- FA Trophy: 2006