Scott McKenna

Scott Fraser McKenna (born 12 November 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer, who plays as a defender for Aberdeen and the Scotland national team. McKenna has also previously played for Ayr United and Alloa Athletic on loan.

Scott McKenna
Personal information
Full name Scott Fraser McKenna[1]
Date of birth (1996-11-12) 12 November 1996
Place of birth Kirriemuir, Scotland
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Aberdeen
Number 5
Youth career
2008–2014 Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014– Aberdeen 88 (5)
2015 → Ayr United (loan) 12 (0)
2016 → Alloa Athletic (loan) 4 (0)
2016–2017 → Ayr United (loan) 11 (1)
National team‡
2013–2015 Scotland U19[2] 14 (0)
2017 Scotland U21 5 (0)
2018– Scotland 13 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:05, 1 August 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:40, 16 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

McKenna began his career in the Aberdeen academy and was initially a left back before moving to the centre. The Daily Record called him "one of the most promising defenders in the country".[3]

McKenna made his professional debut for Aberdeen as a substitute against St Johnstone on 6 February 2016.[4] His first start came against Heart of Midlothian on 16 May 2016.[5][6] On 22 May 2016, he signed a new two-year contract with Aberdeen,[3] In November 2016, McKenna moved on loan to Scottish Championship side Ayr United for 28 days, his second time on loan with the club.[7] His loan was subsequently extended until the end of the season.

In October 2017, McKenna extended his Aberdeen contract until 2021. The club rejected a bid from Hull City to buy him in January 2018.[8] In January 2018, McKenna scored from more than 35 yards in Aberdeen's 3–1 win against Kilmarnock. He claimed in an interview after the match that Kilmarnock skipper Kris Boyd urged him to "shoot" so he obliged.[9] On 7 March 2018, McKenna signed a new contract extension until 2023.[10]

Aberdeen rejected an offer of £3.5 million for McKenna from Celtic in August 2018.[11] Later in August, Aberdeen rejected a larger offer from Aston Villa.[12] During the summer 2019 transfer window, Aberdeen rejected offers from Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest for McKenna after he handed in a transfer request.[13]

In December 2019 Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack confirmed the club had received no offers or approaches from other clubs for McKenna or teammate Sam Cosgrove.[14] McKenna suffered a torn hamstring during a Scottish Cup tie at St Mirren on 29 February 2020, which is expected to prevent him from playing for the rest of the 2019–20 season.[15]

International career

McKenna captained the Scotland under-19s in a 2–2 draw with the Czech Republic in 2014.[16] McKenna made his first appearance for the Scotland under-21s in September 2017.[17]

McKenna was selected for the full national squad in March 2018,[18] and made his full international debut in a 1–0 defeat against Costa Rica on 23 March.[19] In his fourth game for Scotland, a 1–0 defeat to Mexico on 2 June 2018, McKenna was made team captain.[20] On 11 October 2018, McKenna came on a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat against Israel, marking his competitive debut for Scotland.[21]

Personal life

McKenna supported Celtic as a boy.[22] He is distantly related to the late Alan Gilzean, who was a cousin of McKenna's maternal grandmother.[22] His father Ian played semi-professionally in the Scottish Football League for Forfar Athletic and Montrose in the 1990s.[22][23]

Career statistics
As of match played 1 August 2020
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aberdeen 2014–15[24] Scottish Premiership 0000000000
2015–16[25] Scottish Premiership 3000000030
2016–17[26] Scottish Premiership 0000100010
2017–18[27] Scottish Premiership 30240001[lower-alpha 1]0352
2018–19[28]Scottish Premiership 30240302[lower-alpha 2]0392
2019–20[29] Scottish Premiership 24140106[lower-alpha 2]0351
2020–21[30] Scottish Premiership 1000000010
Total 88512050901145
Ayr United (loan) 2014–15[24] Scottish League One 120000000120
Alloa Athletic (loan) 2015–16[25] Scottish Championship 4000000040
Ayr United (loan) 2016–17[26] Scottish Championship 11120001[lower-alpha 3]0141
Career total 1156140501001546
  1. Appearance for Aberdeen under-20s in the Scottish Challenge Cup.
  2. Appearance(s) in the Europa League
  3. Appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup

References
  1. "Scottish Football Association: List of Suspensions: Issue No. 15: Thursday 18 October 2018" (PDF). Scottish Football Association. 18 October 2018. p. 2. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  2. "Scott McKenna". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  3. Mcallion, Kevin (22 March 2016). "Aberdeen tie down starlets Danny Rogers and Scott McKenna". Daily Record. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  4. "Young Dons' Debuts - Season 2015/16". Aberdeen FC. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  5. Davie, Scott. "Aberdeen 0-1 Heart of Midlothian". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  6. "What Aberdeen 0 - 1 Hearts told us about each side's summer recruitment". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  7. Wilson, Mike (11 November 2016). "Ayr United sign Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna on loan". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  8. "Aberdeen turn down Hull City's offer for Scott McKenna". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  9. "Scott McKenna-Kilmarnock Reaction". redtv.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen FC. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  10. "Aberdeen: Scott McKenna extends Pittodrie contract 'to kick on'". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  11. McLaughlin, Chris (22 August 2018). "Scott McKenna: Aberdeen reject Celtic bid of around £3.5m". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  12. McLauchlin, Brian (31 August 2018). "Scott McKenna: Aberdeen turn down Aston Villa bid for defender". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  13. Sutherland, Jonathan (5 August 2019). "Aberdeen: Scott McKenna hands in transfer request". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  14. "Aberdeen: No offers for Sam Cosgrove & Scott McKenna, says chairman". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 December 2019.
  15. "Scott McKenna: Aberdeen and Scotland defender likely to miss rest of season". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  16. "Scott McKenna captains the Scotland U19s". afc.co.uk. Aberdeen FC. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  17. "Motherwell 0-1 Aberdeen: Scott McKenna praised for big part in win". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  18. "Six new faces in Alex McLeish's Scotland squad for March friendlies". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  19. "Scotland 0-1 Costa Rica". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  20. Lamont, Alasdair (3 June 2018). "Mexico 1-0 Scotland: Captaincy caps fairytale season - Scott McKenna". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  21. Lamont, Alasdair (11 October 2018). "Israel 2-1 Scotland: Ten-man Scotland embarrassed by Israel". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  22. Pattullo, Alan (15 February 2020). "Interview: Aberdeen's Scott McKenna on his sudden rise to the Scotland captaincy, why he wants to leave Pittodrie and why Aston Villa's move for him fell through". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  23. Ian McKenna, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Players Transfer Database
  24. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  25. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  26. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  27. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  28. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  29. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  30. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.