Meet the ‘unplayable’ English striker who could knock England OUT of the World Cup: Keinan Davis is the former barber from Stevenage fighting for the golden boot in Serie A – but he’s hoping to play for another country

Keinan Davis is the Englishman and former barbershop trainee who could knock England out of the World Cup. Yes, you read that right. 

The Stevenage-born striker is having the season of his life with Udinese in Serie A and is a contender for the golden boot. But he isn’t waiting round for a call from Thomas Tuchel. 

‘I’m in the process of trying to get my Jamaican passport,’ Davis tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘My mum’s side of the family are all Jamaican. I’ve been before. It was very influential growing up.  

‘International football has not been a crazy goal of mine. I think due to not playing at club level because of injuries or if somebody was ahead of me, my focus has been shifted to just playing as much club football as I can. This is the first season where I’ve been playing with minimal disruption.’

Jamaica still need to qualify against DR Congo but there is a distant chance that England meet the Reggae Boyz in the last 32. Could Davis knock out England? Don’t rule it out. Football works in mysterious ways. 

You wonder, if the Jamaican project fails, whether an England call-up would be realistic. ‘Playing for England would be unreal, out of this world,’ he admits. Davis is a mentality monster after going through the school of hard knocks if he keeps getting better, the clamour will only grow. Watch this space. 

Cast into non-league by Stevenage as a teenager for being too small, he is now 28 years old, 6ft 3in tall, and a nightmare for his opponents. Not that he’d admit it: in our conversation, Davis is consummately humble. 

‘I’d be over the moon [to win the golden boot],’ he says. ‘But just my personal targets are what I’m aiming for. At the beginning of the season, I had my target to score double figures.’

He’s smashed that with eight games to spare. Davis has scored 10, a total only exceeded by Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez (14), who needs to find form after an injury, and Como’s Anastasios Douvikas (11). Udinese, an aspirational club managed by the experienced Kosta Runjaic, have proven a great platform. 

It has been an arduous journey since that fateful day when Stevenage let him go in his mid-teens, a hammer blow which left him with an identity crisis. A child who had been modelling himself off Thierry Henry and Daniel Sturridge was suddenly bereft of hope. 

‘I was very upset, crying, I remember that day,’ he says. ‘You’re at school and people know you as the footballer, so I was kind of embarrassed. I thought I was done with football.’

His route back into the game came via local coach Dave Northfield, who would sometimes give him lifts home from Stevenage training. Northfield took the Boro’s exiled batch of youngsters under his wing at Biggleswade Town’s Under-18s and set about putting them in front of academy scouts.

He shifted Davis from the left wing to the No 9 position and gave him the confidence and discipline he needed.

‘When you get rejected, it can go one of two ways: it can destroy you or it can make you,’ the striker reflects. ‘It can’t get any worse than somebody saying you’re not good enough. You become free and have a better mentality.

‘I owe a lot to Dave. He’s been amazing. I speak with him a lot, very frequently. He changed everything for me.’

All the while, Davis picked up shifts at his cousin’s barber shop in Stevenage. Does he harbour much affection for the world of mohawks, mullets, and mop-tops? 

‘I didn’t really want to be a barber but it was the only thing I could do,’ he says.  

‘My cousin owned a barber shop in Stevenage and I looked up to him as a role model. I wanted to be around him – he made me laugh, we had a good relationship, and he was way older than me. He was very cool.’

Eventually Aston Villa took a chance on Davis, rescuing him from cutting hair and making him cut his teeth against John Terry in training. That experience, playing alongside a legend, forced him to raise his game and adopt the professional habits which have stood him in good stead. 

In English football he won two promotions from the Championship – with Villa and on loan at Nottingham Forest – was labelled ‘unplayable’ by Jack Grealish, and even amassed 34 Premier League appearances. He also broke into the England Under-20s, scoring twice in three outings. At club level, though, he struggled to score consistently. 

Things are different in Italy. His old coach Northfield is flying out for Udinese’s clash against Torino in May for what will be an emotional reunion, and the player he will find is streaks ahead of the one who left England’s shores. Injuries hampered his first two seasons in Udine but he is finally reaping the rewards of his patience and hard work.

‘I think it’s an accumulation of a lot of stuff: hard work, learning from my injuries how I should take care of my body, and certain things I should do,’ Davis says of his sudden rise. 

‘I spent a lot of time on the sidelines watching people have their moment and then learned from them. Right now it’s my time. 

‘I was doing a lot of upper body stuff in the gym before but have taken that out. I focus on my legs now and my core, which has helped me. Also the way I eat – the food here is healthier than anywhere else I’ve been.’

An increasing number of English stars are turning to Italy. In the 2000s, the only ones to play in Serie A were David Beckham and Jay Bothroyd. At the moment there are 11, including Jamie Vardy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fikayo Tomori, and Davis. 

He was initially reluctant to move and found settling in difficult, but he isn’t looking back.

‘I said no in the beginning, but that was because I was being a bit ignorant and was used to England. I asked a few people for advice and they opened up my eyes, which I’m thankful for. It’s 100 per cent the best decision I made. I’m so happy that I came out here,’ he says. 

‘In the beginning, it was very difficult. When I first came, I was in the physio room, and everyone was talking Italian and I was just looking like, “I haven’t got a clue, how am I going to know this?” 

‘I took some lessons and now I can communicate in a basic fashion, whether that’s here to get involved in some banter, or in a restaurant to order some food.’

A watershed moment came on the final day of the 2023-24 season, when Davis came off the bench away at Frosinone and scored the goal to secure Udinese’s survival, sending their hosts down in the process. Davis felt like he had proved his worth and gained the respect of a group he could scarcely communicate with. 

‘Thanks to God that it happened,’ says Davis, whose faith has an increasing influence in his life. 

‘Every day [it plays a role]. I grew up close to my nan and she would take me to church all the time. Throughout the years you’ll pray but not understand. Since I’ve been here I’ve taken it way more seriously and understand what I believe in. It’s been very insightful and a good journey. I hope it continues. It has a big impact.’

Udinese are virtually safe in 11th, so another season in Serie A beckons unless any suitors come in for him, which you imagine may happen. 

For now, he is just enjoying the ride in Italy, accompanied by his girlfriend and daughter, and keeping his feet on the ground amid the rising noise.