Harry Panayiotou

Background

Panayiotou was born in Leicester, to a Greek Cypriot father, Andreas ("Andy"), who is involved in youth football, and a Kittian mother.

Career

He scored on his debut in the Football League for Leicester City in April 2012. However, he did not get another first team opportunity for over two years, and was loaned out to Portuguese Vale in October 2014, and then Raith Rovers in January 2016. He started his career at the youth academy of local club Leicester City, alongside subsequent first-team teammates Andy King, Jeff Schlupp, Liam Moore, Tom Parkes and Cian Bolger.

After impressing in games for Leicester City Under-21"s he was named as the under-21 Premier League Player of the Month for March.

He made his senior debut for the "Foxes" against Leeds United on the final day of the 2011-2012 season at Elland Road. He replaced Lloyd Dyer in the 73rd minute and scored the winning goal in added time.

He signed his first professional contract in September 2012, and in July 2014 he extended it by a further two years. On 20 October 2014, Panayioutou joined League One side Portuguese Vale on a one-month loan.

However, he did not make a first team appearance for the "Valiants" during his time at Vale Park.

On 29 January 2016, Panayiotou joined Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers on a loan until the end of the 2015-2016 season. He made his league debut for Raith against Rangers on 2 February, coming on as a second half substitute. On 8 October 2014, Panayiotou scored on his debut for Saint Kitts and Nevis in their Caribbean Cup qualifying defeat to Barbados at Stade Sylvio Cator in Portuguese-au-Prince, Haiti.

The strike helped to enshrine Panayiotou in the record books, after becoming Leicester City"s leading international goalscorer.

Achievements

• His performances for the under-18 side earned him the Fans" Academy Player of the Year award for the 2011-2012 season. He was part of the youth squad which won the HKFC International Soccer Sevens cup in May 2013, where he scored five goals, including one in the 2–0 win over Newcastle United in the final. He was subsequently named Player of the Tournament. On 18 May 2015, Panayiotou was named Leicester City Under-21 Player of the Year, reward for an impressive season including scoring 11 goals in his last 13 games. On 26 March 2015, he scored a hat-trick beginning with a penalty in the second leg of a World Cup first qualifying round tie against the Turks and Caicos Islands at the TCIFA National Academy in Providenciales. Saint Kitts and Nevis won the match 6–2 for a 12–4 aggregate victory. Panayiotou continued his rich run of goals for Saint Kitts and Nevis, scoring the first goal in their 2-0 win over Aruba in the 2016 Caribbean Cup qualification match on 26 March 2016.