Jack Aitchison (born 5 March 2000) is a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a forward for club

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

Career

Celtic

Aitchison graduated from Celtic's school of excellence at

St Ninians High School St Ninian's High School is a six-year co-educational Roman Catholic state high school in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school, which opened in 1984, serves Giffnock, Clarkston, Thornliebank, Newton Mearns, Eaglesham, Netherlee, W ...

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; ; ) is a town and a Burgh of Barony (The Baron of Kirkintilloch) in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. Historically ...

in February 2016, at which time he joined Celtic full-time and became part of their Under 17 squad. He played in the Celtic U17 side that defeated their Rangers counterparts 4–0 in the

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rule ...

final in April 2016. At this time, he also signed a three-year contract. During his youth career he also appeared and scored in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 editions of the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

, found the net against senior clubs in the 2016–17 Scottish Challenge Cup, and won the

Scottish Youth Cup The Scottish Youth Cup (also known as the SFA Youth Cup) is an annual football in Scotland, Scottish football competition run by the Scottish Football Association for under-18 teams,2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Aitchison made his first team debut on 15 May 2016, becoming the youngest player ever to represent the club in a competitive match at 16 years and 71 days. He scored with his first touch in the match, providing Celtic's seventh goal in a 7–0 win over

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, in turn making him the youngest ever player to score a competitive goal for the club. His next appearance for the first team came in January 2017, coming on in the final minutes of a home league match against Hearts and winning a penalty which Scott Sinclair converted for Celtic's last goal in a 4–0 win. Aitchison joined League One club

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

on loan in August 2018. He was then loaned to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They compete in as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. According to the official club hist ...

in January 2019. On 2 September 2019, Aitchison moved on a season-long loan deal to English League Two club

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

. He scored on his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 win away to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

on 7 September 2019.

Barnsley

On 5 October 2020, Aitchison joined

side

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on a three-year contract after leaving Celtic.

Forest Green Rovers (loan)

On 2 July 2021, Aitchison returned to former loan club Forest Green Rovers, again on loan for the duration of the 2021–22 season.

Motherwell

On 31 January 2023, Aitchison joined

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

on a permanent deal until the end of the season.

Exeter City

On 28 June 2023, Aitchison agreed to join League One side

on a two-year deal.

Career statistics

Notes

Honours

Forest Green Rovers * League Two: 2021–22

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aitchison, Jack 2000 births Living people People from Fauldhouse Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's youth international footballers Celtic F.C. players Men's association football forwards Footballers from West Lothian Dumbarton F.C. players Alloa Athletic F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen