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 Fo ...
,
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 t ...
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), and ...
, made his first full international appearance for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
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 popul ...
, supporting
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 Fo ...
.
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 on ...
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 cur ...
. 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 from ...
, who was also playing for the club's youth teams, fell out of favour.
Rangers youth
McGeouch went to Rangers 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, where he ...
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. 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
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 t ...
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 189 ...
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. 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 ...
at
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, We ...
.
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. He then played the full game as Hibs defeated Rangers in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final, 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
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), and ...
.
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
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, where he ...
confirmed during May 2018 that McGeouch would leave under freedom of contract.
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 governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for ...
On 22 November 2022, McGeouch joined EFL League One club
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 ...
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
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
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 = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
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 Guatema ...
. 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 expre ...
. He has developed as a central midfield player during his time at Hibernian.
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. I ...
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 ...
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 Fo ...
Goal of the Season: 2011–12
*Hibernian Player of the Year 2018
*Hibernian Players’ Player of the Year 2018