Marley Watkins, born on 17 October 1990 in England, is a football forward who primarily plays as a striker for Kilmarnock. Standing at 5ft 10in (1.78m) and 10st 3lb (65kg), he fills the number 23 jersey on the field.
His career trajectory has been a testament to his potential and adaptation abilities. In July 2008, Watkins began his professional journey with Cheltenham Town in the English League Two. In his debut season (2008-2009), he made a respectable 12 first team appearances in league matches, followed by 13 appearances and one goal in the subsequent season.
In September 2010, Watkins moved on loan to Bath City in the National League South, making 22 first team appearances and scoring three goals during the 2010-2011 season. He continued to impress with 37 appearances and five goals the next season. The move to Bath City was made permanent in January 2011 for an undisclosed fee.
Switching leagues again, Watkins moved to Hereford United in Englandโs Southern Football League in July 2012. In the 2012-2013 season, he made a mark with 34 appearances and five goals. In July 2013, he was transferred to Inverness CT, where he tallied one goal in 26 appearances in his first season (2013-2014) and bagged seven goals in 33 appearances the following season.
July of 2015 took Watkins back to England, this time to Barnsley in League One, where he made 34 appearances and scored five goals in the 2015-2016 season. He found the back of the net on ten occasions the following season, marking his best goal-scoring season yet.
Moving to Norwich City in the Championship in 2017, Watkins only managed to make 24 first team appearances in his debut season, but a move to Bristol City in 2018 for a fee of around ยฃ1m saw him regain his form with two goals in 16 appearances during the 2018-2019 season. Due to fewer first team chances, Watkins found loaned opportunities with Aberdeen in Scotland's Premiership from 2020 to 2021.
After the expiration of his loan, Watkins returned to Bristol City only to be transferred shortly after in June 2021 to an undisclosed team. However, in July 2021, Watkins was snapped up by Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership, where he had previously spent a successful loan stint. Unfortunately, his stay was short-lived as he moved to Cardiff City in the Championship in England in August 2021.
In June 2023, Watkins departed Aberdeen and within the following month, he had signed for Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership for an undisclosed fee. Currently, in the 2024-2025 season, Watkins has made 31 first team appearances and scored four goals for Kilmarnock.
Aside from his league performances, Watkins has displayed his goal-scoring prowess in various competitions, such as the League Cup 2024-2025, Scottish Cup 2024-2025, Europa League Qualifiers 2024-2025, and Conference League Qualifiers 2024-2025, netting an aggregate of one goal in five starts for Kilmarnock.
