Kaylen Dennis, 17, who played for Walthamstow FC’s U23 team, collapsed and died while playing a match against Barnet College this week

Walthamstow Football Club has said it is devastated after one of its U23 players Kaylen Dennis died during a high school match at Barnet College on Wednesday (11th December).
Kaylen, 17, suddenly collapsed and died after an ‘innocuous tackle’ his manager has said.
Described as a player with “unbelievable talent”, his manager Jason Geraghty told the MailOnline: “We won the league last year and Kaylen was the top scorer in the league. ‘Kaylen was by far our best [U23] player. He was the best forward at my club. I can’t speak highly enough of him. Kaylen was like my own son. He was an exceptional young man and always smiling.”
A GoFundMe for Kaylen’s grieving family has raised over £4,000 at the time of writing.
Walthamstow FC issued a statement saying: “We are devastated to learn of the passing away of one of our U23 players, Kaylen Dennis during a game at the weekend. We send our deepest condolences to his family, friends, teammates and everyone that knew him.”
Kaylen’s cousin is Sheffield United player Rhian Brewster who scored during a match against Millwall on Wednesday spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield just hours after his death: “I want to dedicate that goal to my younger cousin. He passed away earlier today before the game, so that’s one for him and the family. It was a very tough time [for the family], but I played for him today, and I was very happy to come away with a goal, and that’s for him.”
You can donate to Kaylen’s GoFundMe here
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