Kieran came through the youth ranks at Manchester City and signed professional papers with the club in 2008, the same season he helped the club win The FA Youth Cup.
The previous year, the 5’10” defender had made his first appearance in an England shirt, coming on as a substitute in an U18s friendly against Ghana. But it was in the 2008-09 season that he became a regular within the England development set-up.
He was a mainstay for the U19s as they qualified for the 2009 European Championship in Ukraine and featured heavily as England reached the Final of the competition, only to be beaten by the hosts.
A month after appearing in the Euros Final, Kieran was selected to represent the U20s at the FIFA World Cup in Egypt, playing every minute of England’s three matches before they bowed out at the Group Stage.
At the beginning of 2010, Kieran had a loan spell at Barnsley and again returned to the Tykes at the start of the 2010-11 season.
His progress at Oakwell saw him drafted into Stuart Pearce’s Under-21s squad, for the first time, for the crucial Euro 2011 play-offs against Romania.