Dylan McGeouch (born 15 January 1993) is a Scottish

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 ...

, who currently plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

. McGeouch, who has previously played for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

, Hibernian,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

, made his first full international appearance for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

in May 2018.

Early life

McGeouch grew up in the

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free ...

area of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, supporting

Club career

Celtic youth

McGeouch started his career with the Celtic youth system, frequently playing alongside

Callum McGregor Callum William McGregor (born 14 June 1993) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic, which he captains, and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Notts County o ...

who was also a teammate in youth

Victory Shield The Victory Shield is an annual football tournament competed for by the under-16 teams of Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The Victory Shield had traditionally been competed for by the four Home Nations, but the Football ...

internationals at Under-16 level; at that time McGeouch was a pupil at

Bishopbriggs Academy Bishopbriggs Academy is a secondary school in the town of Bishopbriggs, Scotland, in the district of East Dunbartonshire. Bishopbriggs Academy is a non-denominational, co-educational, comprehensive school taking pupils from S1 to S6. It is curr ...

. He was often a ball boy for first team matches during his time there. He left Celtic in 2008 after his older brother

Darren Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come fro ...

, who was also playing for the club's youth teams, fell out of favour.

Rangers youth

McGeouch went to

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

in 2008, but he returned to Celtic in 2011 after

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish football coach and former player. During his playing career he represented English clubs Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Leicester City. Lennon moved to Celtic in 2000, wher ...

visited his house and asked him to come back. Rangers manager

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing car ...

had appealed to McGeouch to stay at Rangers. Rangers were later awarded £100,000 by a transfer tribunal regarding the McGeouch transfer.

Celtic

McGeouch made his Celtic debut on 6 November 2011, when he came on as a late substitute in a 2–1 win over

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

. On 26 November, he made his second appearance for Celtic, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute against St Mirren. Eight minutes later he scored his first goal for the club after collecting the ball deep inside his own half and running 70 yards, dribbling past several St Mirren players, before striking a low left foot shot into the net to seal a 5–0 victory.

Coventry City (loan)

On 30 January 2014, McGeouch was loaned to

for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. He returned to Celtic in the summer of 2014.

Hibernian

After making one appearance for Celtic in August 2014, he was loaned to Hibernian until the end of the season. He made his first appearance against

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

on 13 September. He received a red card in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

fixture against Ross County for a heavy tackle on

Joe Cardle Joseph Cardle (born 7 February 1987) is an English footballer who plays for club Kelty Hearts. Cardle tends to be played as a winger but can play on either side. Starting his career at Port Vale in 2005, he made occasional appearances in his ...

. He scored his first goal for Hibernian in a 4–0 victory over

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

Almondvale Stadium Almondvale Stadium, also known as the Tony Macaroni Arena for sponsorship purposes, but most commonly referred to as ‘The Spaghettihad’ (alluding to the Etihad Stadium), is a football stadium, located in the Almondvale area of Livingston, ...

. On 21 August 2015, McGeouch signed permanently for Hibernian on a three-year deal. He suffered a series of injury problems during the 2015–16 season and was restricted to 19 league appearances. McGeouch came back into the team for the promotion playoffs, in which Hibs lost 5–4 on aggregate to

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

. He then played the full game as Hibs defeated

in the

2016 Scottish Cup Final The 2016 Scottish Cup Final was the 131st final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 2015–16 Scottish Cup, the most prestigious knockout football competition in Scotland. The match took place at Hampden Park on 21 May 2016 and was contested ...

, their first victory in the competition for 114 years. McGeouch was restricted to 18 league appearances in 2016–17, as Hibs won promotion to the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

. He scored one goal during the season, the second Hibs goal in the

2016–17 Scottish Cup The 2016–17 Scottish Cup was the 132nd season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament was sponsored by bookmaker William Hill in what was the sixth season of a nine-year partnership, after contract negotia ...

semi-final defeat by

. McGeouch produced impressive performances during the 2017–18 season, as he was able to stay relatively free of injury problems. He earned a selection for the international squad in March 2018, but then had to withdraw due to an abductor injury. With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, head coach

confirmed during May 2018 that McGeouch would leave under freedom of contract.

Sunderland

McGeouch signed for EFL League One club

in July 2018.

Aberdeen

On 7 January 2020, McGeouch signed for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen on a permanent deal until 2022. In August 2020 he was one of eight Aberdeen players who received a suspended three-match ban from the

Scottish FA The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

after they breached coronavirus-related restrictions by visiting a bar earlier in the month.

Forest Green Rovers

On 22 November 2022, McGeouch joined EFL League One club

on a deal until the end of the 2022–23 season.

International career

McGeouch was called up to the Scotland under-21 squad on 17 April 2012, to face

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

eight days later. McGeouch was selected for the full

squad in March 2018, but he had to withdraw due to injury. He was again selected for the squad in May 2018, for friendly matches in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. McGeouch made his full Scotland debut on 29 May 2018, in a 2–0 defeat to Peru.

Career statistics

Style of play

McGeouch's primary position was as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

but used to also play on the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

. He has developed as a central midfield player during his time at Hibernian.

Honours

Club

Celtic *

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

: 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

Hibernian *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2015–16 *

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

: 2016–17 Sunderland *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL ...

runner-up: 2018–19

Individual

Goal of the Season: 2011–12 *Hibernian Player of the Year 2018 *Hibernian Players’ Player of the Year 2018

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGeouch, Dylan 1993 births Association football midfielders Celtic F.C. players Living people Rangers F.C. players Scotland under-21 international footballers Scotland youth international footballers Scottish footballers Scottish Premier League players Footballers from Glasgow Coventry City F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Hibernian F.C. players Scotland international footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players