Mustapha Soon Carayol (born 4 September 1988) is a Gambian professional footballer who last played as a winger for EFL League One club Exeter City and the Gambia national team.
He also played in Cyprus and Turkey for Apollon Limassol and Adana Demirspor and in the Football League for Milton Keynes Dons, Torquay United, Lincoln City, Bristol Rovers, Gillingham and Burton Albion, as well as several spells with non-league clubs Crawley Town and Kettering Town.
[17] Carayol made his Torquay United debut, in the opening game of the season, where he came on as a substitute for Danny Stevens in the 68th minute, in a 1–1 draw against Histon.
[20] After returning from a loan spell at Kettering Town, Carayol made his first appearance on 6 February 2010, where he played 45 minutes in the match, in a 1–0 loss against Hereford United.
[41] However, as the 2010–11 season progressed, Carayol began to have injuries plagued, which saw him restricted to 37 appearances in all competitions and Lincoln City relegated from the Football League.
[49] Carayol made his Bristol Rovers debut, in the opening game of the season, coming on as a substitute for Joe Anyinsah, in a 3–2 win over Wimbledon.
[55] Amid the transfer speculation, Carayol suffered a groin injury and was substituted after 28 minutes into the start during a 3–2 loss against Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup.
[56] After weeks on the sidelines, Carayol made his return to the first team, coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute, in a 0–0 draw against Oxford United on 18 February 2012.
[82] Carayol then scored four more goals towards the end of the 2013–14 season against Bolton Wanderers,[83] a brace against Blackpool[84] and Nottingham Forest.
After his loan spell at Brighton & Hove Albion came to an end, Carayol signed a contract with the club on 28 April 2015, keeping him until 2018.
[72] On 26 March 2015, Carayol signed a loan contract with Brighton & Hove Albion for the rest of the season in order to regain match fitness.
[90] Carayol made his Brighton & Hove Albion debut the next day, where he played 81 minutes, in a 1–0 loss against Rotherham United.
[92] On 27 August 2015, Carayol joined fellow Football League Championship side Huddersfield Town on a season-long loan.
[93] Carayol made his début as a substitute in the 1–0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers on 29 August 2015 at the John Smith's Stadium, playing 10 minutes.
[97] After 15 appearances, scoring 3 league goals, Carayol's season-long loan with Huddersfield Town was cut short and he left the club at the beginning of January.
[99] He scored on his debut appearance on 9 January 2016 against Rotherham United to help Leeds advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
[103] After leaving Middlesbrough by mutual consent on 31 August 2016, Carayol signed for Nottingham Forest on a two–year contract that day.
[107] Carayol made his first appearance of the 2017–18 season in an EFL Cup first round victory over Shrewsbury Town, scoring one of Forest's goals with a converted penalty, and playing the pass for the other.
[113] During his time with the club he featured in the UEFA Europa League, including a man of the match performance in a 2–1 away defeat to Lazio.
[115] In August 2021 Carayol signed for EFL League One side Gillingham on a free transfer, reuniting with Steve Evans who had been his former manager at Crawley Town and Leeds United.
On 20 September 2024, Carayol was signed by Exeter City on a short-term deal to provide injury cover.
"[120] Carayol was eligible to play for Gambia through his father, Senegal through his mother and England by holding a British passport.