Jack Aitchison
Jack Aitchison (born 5 March 2000) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Forest Green Rovers, on loan from Celtic.
 Aitchison playing for Scotland U19 in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 March 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Fauldhouse, Scotland | ||
| Playing position(s) | Forward, Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team |
Forest Green Rovers (on loan from Celtic) | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010– | Celtic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016– | Celtic | 3 | (1) |
| 2018 | → Dumbarton (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Alloa Athletic (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2019– | → Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 23 | (5) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2014 | Scotland U15 | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Scotland U16 | 3 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Scotland U17 | 19 | (2) |
| 2017– | Scotland U19 | 17 | (11) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:36, 1 January 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02:24, 20 October 2019 (UTC) | |||
Career
Aitchison graduated from Celtic's school of excellence at St Ninian's Academy in Kirkintilloch 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 final in April 2016. At this time, he also signed a three-year contract.[1][2] During his youth career he also appeared and scored in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 editions of the UEFA Youth League,[3] found the net against senior clubs in the 2016–17 Scottish Challenge Cup, and won the Scottish Youth Cup in 2017.[4]
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, in turn making him the youngest ever player to score a competitive goal for the club.[5][6] 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.[7]
Aitchison joined League One club Dumbarton on loan in August 2018.[8] He was then loaned to Championship club Alloa Athletic in January 2019.[9]
On 2 September 2019, Aitchison moved on a season-long loan deal to English League Two club Forest Green Rovers.[10] He scored on his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 win away to Cambridge United on 7 September 2019.[11]
Career statistics
- As of 1 February 2020[3]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Celtic | 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Celtic Under-20s[N 1] | 2016–17 | — | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||
| 2017–18 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | ||
| Dumbarton (loan) | 2018–19 | Scottish League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Alloa Athletic (loan) | 2018–19 | Scottish Championship | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | |
| Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 2019–20 | EFL League Two | 23 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 6 | |
| Career total | 40 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 50 | 11 | ||
Notes
- Matches in the Scottish Challenge Cup, in which teams from the SPFL Development League compete against senior clubs
References
- "Jack Aitchison pledges his future to the Hoops". Celtic FC. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- Herron, Lindsay (18 May 2016). "Celtic's Jack Aitchison graduates with honours". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- "J. Aitchison". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- "Celtic 3 Rangers 0: Young Hoops claim Scottish Youth Cup glory". The Herald. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- Hamouda, Omar (15 May 2016). "Jack Aitchison becomes Celtic's youngest ever goalscorer". Squawka. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "Jack Aitchison". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- McConnell, Alison (30 January 2017). "Smiles all round as record breakers Celtic crush Hearts". Evening Times. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- Galloway, Andy (31 August 2018). "LOAN DEAL FOR STRIKER". Dumbarton Football Club.
- "Celtic: Striker Jack Aitchison joins Alloa Athletic on loan". BBC Sport. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- Palmer, Jon (2 September 2019). "Celtic's youngest ever scorer makes deadline day move Forest Green Rovers on season-long loan". GloucestershireLive. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- Laing, Connor (8 September 2019). "MATCH REPORT: Cambridge United 0 Forest Green Rovers 1". Forest Green Rovers F.C. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- McLeod, Rhona (17 May 2016). "Celtic teen striker Jack Aitchison is a Gunner at heart". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
