AFC Bournemouth Vokes stepped up into
AFC Bournemouth's first team on 5 December 2006 in a 2–0 victory over
Nottingham Forest. His first senior goal came in a 1–1 draw at
Gillingham on 16 December. The club gave him a three-and-a-half-year professional contract during the following month. He made 14 appearances and scored four goals in his debut season as the Cherries finished in 18th spot. He also turned down
Crewe Alexandra in January 2008 who had made a £200,000 bid. Vokes was a bright spark in an otherwise tumultuous season for the Cherries as they were embroiled in a club ownership saga. His 12-goal tally could not prevent Bournemouth from being relegated to
League Two.
Wolverhampton Wanderers He eventually signed a four-year contract with
Championship side
Wolverhampton Wanderers on 23 May 2008. Vokes marked his debut for the club by coming off the bench to equalise in a 2–2 draw away to
Plymouth Argyle on the opening day of the
2008–09 season. With the goal-scoring form of
Chris Iwelumo and
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake firing the club to the top of the table – that they led for almost the entire season – Vokes was mostly only employed as a substitute. Nonetheless he contributed to eight goals to help the team win promotion to the
Premier League as champions. To gain playing time, Vokes moved to
League One side
Leeds United in October 2009 on loan until the New Year, making his Leeds debut in a 2–1 victory over
Norwich City on 19 October. He scored once for the club against
Bristol Rovers but competition between Leeds strikers meant Vokes returned to Wolves when the deal ended. Vokes went out on loan once more in August 2010 when he moved to Championship side
Bristol City. He endured a miserable stay, tearing his hamstring within minutes of making his debut in a match against
Millwall and re-aggravating the injury in a reserve match in December. He returned to Wolves when his loan expired in January having played just 13 minutes of first team football. Once again fit, he moved on a month-long loan to another Championship side,
Sheffield United, in February 2011 and made his début the same evening in a 1–1 draw with
Reading. With their other attacking options regaining fitness, the
Blades elected not to extend Vokes' loan period, meaning he was instead signed up by promotion-chasing
Norwich City on 23 March on an emergency loan for the rest of the season. However, an injury to Wolves' leading goalscorer
Kevin Doyle saw the club recall him after just four appearances for the
Canaries, during which he scored once. Back at
Molineux, he made two substitute appearances for the team during the run-in as they narrowly avoided relegation on the final day despite losing 3–2 against
Blackburn Rovers. During the
2011–12 season, he made four Premier League appearances for Wolves, but did not start a league match. In November 2011 he once more went out on loan to a Championship side, this time joining
Burnley until 15 January. He played nine times for Burnley, scoring twice and impressed manager
Eddie Howe. On 30 January 2012, Vokes joined Championship side
Brighton & Hove Albion on loan until the end of the season. He scored on his full home debut in a 2–2 draw with Millwall on 14 February 2012. He scored three goals in total during his 14 appearances for the Seagulls. On 2 December, Vokes scored an equalising goal for Burnley in the 89th minute against fierce rivals
Blackburn Rovers a match which ended 1–1. Despite this goal, Vokes struggled to establish himself in the first eleven and was used predominantly as a substitute. This was mainly down to the form of top scorer
Charlie Austin, with manager
Sean Dyche often opting to partner Austin with fellow strikers
Martin Paterson or
Danny Ings, both being quicker and more mobile than Vokes. On the eve of the
2013–14 Championship season, Burnley agreed a deal with
Queens Park Rangers for the transfer of Charlie Austin, who had attracted much attention from Premier League teams throughout the summer. With Austin moving out of the club, this gave Vokes his long-awaited chance in the starting eleven, and he formed a striking partnership with
Danny Ings and he finished the season with 21 goals in 44 matches helping the Clarets finished 2nd, gaining promotion to the
Premier League. He missed the run in after he ruptured his
anterior cruciate ligament which kept him out until December 2014. He marked his return from injury with a goal against
Tottenham Hotspur in the
FA Cup. Vokes played 15 league matches in
2014–15 as Burnley suffered relegation back to the Championship. Vokes signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Burnley in January 2016. He scored 16 goals in 46 appearances as Burnley returned to the Premier League as Championship title winners. Vokes scored his first Premier League goal on 20 August 2016 at
Turf Moor in a 2–0 win against
Liverpool. Vokes scored 12 goals in 36 games in
2016–17 helping the team avoid relegation, finishing in 16th. He made 32 appearances as Burnley had a successful campaign finishing in 7th, qualifying for the
UEFA Europa League. Burnley went out to Greek side
Olympiacos in the play-off round. In October 2018 Vokes signed new contract at
Turf Moor keeping him contract until 2021. However, in January 2019 manager
Sean Dyche said he would allow Vokes to leave in the club in the January transfer window.
Stoke City Vokes joined
Stoke City on 31 January 2019 on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut two days later against
Hull City, and missed a penalty in a 2–0 defeat. Vokes scored his first goal for Stoke on 23 February in a 1–1 draw with
Aston Villa. Vokes ended the
2018–19 season with three goals from 12 appearances. Vokes scored in all three rounds of the
EFL Cup in August and September but didn't score in the league until December. He scored a dramatic 97th-minute winner against
Sheffield Wednesday on boxing day which lifted the team off the bottom of the table. The season extended into June due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and Vokes played in all the remaining matches and scored against relegation rivals
Barnsley on 4 July 2020. He ended the campaign with eight goals from 40 appearances as Stoke avoided relegation and finished in 15th position. In the
2020–21 season, Vokes was used mainly as a substitute by
Michael O'Neill, starting only five of his 30 league appearances as Stoke finished in mid-table. His only goal during the campaign came in a 1–0 EFL Cup win away at
Aston Villa on 1 October 2020.
Wycombe Wanderers Vokes joined
Wycombe Wanderers on 28 July 2021 for an undisclosed fee. On 16 May 2022, ahead of the play-off final, Vokes signed a new one-year contract with the club. On 24 April 2023, he said he had signed another new contract. On 20 May 2025, the club announced he would be leaving in June when his contract expired.
Gillingham Following his departure from Wycombe, Vokes signed a one-year contract with
EFL League Two club
Gillingham, managed by his former Wycombe manager
Gareth Ainsworth. ==International career==