Nicky Devlin (born 17 October 1993) 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
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
for club
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
and the Scotland national team.
He has previously played for Dumbarton, Motherwell, Stenhousemuir, Ayr United, Walsall and Livingston.
Devlin made his Scotland debut in 2024.
Career
Motherwell
Devlin signed for
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. ...
in the summer of 2009, and broke into the first team during the 2010–11 season. Devlin signed a pre-contract agreement with SPL side
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 March 2011. As part of the deal,
Jordan Halsman
Jordan Halsman (born 13 June 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer, who played for Elgin City until 2017. He plays as left-back, but can also operate as a midfielder.
Whilst at Motherwell he had loan spells with Annan Athletic, Dumbarto ...
's loan deal at Dumbarton was extended until the end of the season, and Motherwell played a pre-season friendly against Dumbarton. Devlin officially joined Motherwell on 1 July 2011. Devlin was injured for most of the 2011–12 season, but came back at the start of 2012 and turned in some excellent performances for the Motherwell under-19 team. On 29 March 2012, Devlin joined
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...
on loan until the end of the season where he was awarded the Young Player of the Month award for April, his first full month at the club.
On 17 August 2012, Devlin re-joined
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 until January 2013, which was subsequently extended for a further twenty-eight days. On 15 March 2013, Devlin was again farmed out on loan, re-joining Stenhousemuir till the end of the season. On 20 May 2013, after not making a single first-team appearance for Motherwell, Devlin was released by the club.
Stenhousemuir
Upon being released by Motherwell, he was quickly signed on a permanent contract by Stenhousemuir, who he had two previous loan spells with, for the 2013–14 season. At the end of the season, he was one of a number of players released by the club.
Ayr United
In July 2014, Devlin signed for
Ayr United
Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...
. He was made club captain on 19 May 2015. However, after the club's relegation from the
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
, Devlin announced he would be leaving Ayr in May 2017 at the end of his contract.
Walsall
Devlin signed for
League One League One or League 1 may refer to:
Association football
* EFL League One, the third tier of football in England.
* China League One, the second tier of football in China
* K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea
* Lao League 1
* Lea ...
club
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
in June 2017 on a two-year contract. He was offered a new contract by Walsall at the end of the 2018–19 season, however he opted to move back to Scotland.
Livingston
In June 2019, Devlin signed for
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 ...
side
Livingston
Livingston or Livingstonemay 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 Am ...
. Devlin played four seasons at Livingston, the latter two as team captain.
Aberdeen
Devlin confirmed on 22 May 2023 that he had agreed a deal to join fellow Premiership side
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
.
Devlin won Premiership Player of the Month for October 2024, after the club went on an unbeaten run.
International career
On 1 October 2024, he was called-up by
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
for the first time for
UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...
matches against
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. He made his debut as a substitute against Portugal at Hampden, making a crucial block late on in the game to deny
Rafael Leão
Rafael Alexandre da Conceição Leão (; born 10 June 1999) is a Portuguese professional association football, footballer who plays as a left winger for Serie A club Inter Milan, AC Milan and the Portugal national football team, Portugal nationa ...
.
Coaching career
In June 2020, Devlin agreed to join the under-20 coaching staff of
West of Scotland Football League
The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League.
Founded in 20 ...
side Rossvale. David Gormley also brought him in to assist in first-team training sessions.
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...