As much as it’s possible to catch the eye in these early pre-season games, when the accent is on fitness as much as performance, it is undeniable that Kai Nugent has stepped up quickly for Carlisle United.
The 18-year-old’s first two appearances as a pro have been bright. Against Annan Athletic he played a dynamic role in the Blues’ comeback, setting up their winning goal, and at Gretna 2008 produced another highly capable showing which he capped with a goal.
We are still some way from knowing how close or how far Nugent may be from Paul Simpson’s first-team thoughts as the serious stuff edges closer. These are fledgling days in Nugent’s professional career and much developing lies ahead.
The diminutive player has, though, done his case no harm among many more senior figures in Simpson’s squad. Nugent has looked bright in a right-sided role and, ahead of Saturday’s return to former loan club Workington Reds, is a young player worth tracking.
Danny Grainger, the Workington manager, has a great fondness for Nugent on account of his performances in the second half of their 2022/23 promotion season. Nugent was an immediately pivotal figure for Reds as they rose from the NPL West, going up through the play-offs.
“He came in to try and get bit more exposure to the senior game,” Grainger says. “His physicality is something that always gets mentioned but I always knew he was a good technical player and would suit the way we played.
“We played him in a couple positions – off the right wing, coming inside on his left foot, which he got couple assists with and a goal, and central midfield where he was able to create and dictate games as well.
“He excelled. Loans don’t always work like that but he was a huge positive for us towards the end of the season – and his energy and enthusiasm was a huge positive on his side. He mixed into the dressing room straight away.
“He’s a fantastic young lad. His attitude towards everything, whether it be a tough running session or a nice night with the ball…he gives you everything, which is all you can ask.
“You look at youngsters sometimes and think, ‘Come on, give us a little bit more,’ but you never have to ask for more from Kai. You know you’re getting 110 per cent out of him every session and every game.”
Nugent was the only member of United’s second-year youth cohort to be awarded professional terms at the end of last season (another high-flier, Ryan Carr, left for Ipswich Town mid-season). He was named the under-18s’ player of the season and, having featured in Simpson’s senior thoughts last pre-season, is pushing forward again.
He is the latest player to come right through Carlisle’s academy to attain professional status: already a source of pride to his family and those who have developed him. They way he adapted to hardened football at Workington was also to his credit.
“A lot of young lads look at loan moves as a negative, thinking, ‘Is this them trying to get me out of the door?’" Grainger says. "But Kai looked at it and probably thought, ‘If I do well here, I can earn myself another contract and a further opportunity,’ and that’s what he’s done.
“For me, he’s one who, if he keeps progressing, can have a career in the game. He has to keep pushing himself and I think he will. He’s not the type who’ll get over confident. He’s very critical of his own performances, always willing to learn. That’s a huge positive for him as a player and it’s about how you balance that.
“In the first half of my own career, I was very critical of myself. I was over-analytical on my mistakes. Kai will have to learn from any mistakes he makes, but not dwell on them. That’s what I told him when he first came to Workington. He did exactly that and got better and better with every game.”
Simpson has used Nugent in the right wing-back slot at a time United are limited in numbers there. It has been a case of the teenager grabbing an early chance wherever it is offered. Whatever 2023/24 involves for him, these are boxes ticked.
“I’m a big fan of Kai, there’s no hiding that,” adds Grainger. “Whether he gets into the first-team squad at Carlisle, only the likes of Paul and Gav [Skelton] know that, or whether they decide he needs another loan.
“He just has to keep listening to what his coaches say, keep progressing, and, while he’s in there during pre-season, keep doing what he’s doing at the moment, game by game.”
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