Jack Aitchison

For the Australian footballer, see Jack Aitchison (Australian footballer).

Jack Aitchison
Aitchison with Scotland U19 in 2019
Personal information
Full name Jack Aitchison[1]
Date of birth (2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Fauldhouse, Scotland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward, Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Exeter City
Number 29
Youth career
2010–2016 Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Celtic 3 (1)
2018 → Dumbarton (loan) 4 (0)
2019 → Alloa Athletic (loan) 10 (1)
2019–2020 → Forest Green Rovers (loan) 28 (5)
2020–2023 Barnsley 20 (3)
2020–2021 → Stevenage (loan) 26 (1)
2021–2022 → Forest Green Rovers (loan) 46 (5)
2023 Motherwell 10 (0)
2023– Exeter City 57 (4)
International career‡
2014 Scotland U15 1 (0)
2014–2015 Scotland U16 3 (1)
2015–2017 Scotland U17 19 (2)
2017–2019 Scotland U19 17 (11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:32, 15 January 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:24, 20 October 2019 (UTC)

Jack Aitchison (born 5 March 2000) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Exeter City.

Career

Celtic

Aitchison graduated from Celtic's school of excellence at St Ninians High School 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.[3][4] During his youth career he also appeared and scored in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 editions of the UEFA Youth League,[5] found the net against senior clubs in the 2016–17 Scottish Challenge Cup, and won the Scottish Youth Cup in 2017.[6]

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.[7][8] 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.[9]

Aitchison joined League One club Dumbarton on loan in August 2018.[10] He was then loaned to Championship club Alloa Athletic in January 2019.[11]

On 2 September 2019, Aitchison moved on a season-long loan deal to English League Two club Forest Green Rovers.[12] He scored on his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 win away to Cambridge United on 7 September 2019.[13]

Barnsley

On 5 October 2020, Aitchison joined Championship side Barnsley on a three-year contract after leaving Celtic.[14]

Forest Green Rovers (loan)

On 2 July 2021, Aitchison returned to former loan club Forest Green Rovers, again on loan for the duration of the 2021–22 season.[15]

Motherwell

On 31 January 2023, Aitchison joined Scottish Premiership club Motherwell on a permanent deal until the end of the season.[16]

Exeter City

On 28 June 2023, Aitchison agreed to join League One side Exeter City on a two-year deal.[17]

Career statistics

As of match played 14 January 2025[5]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 2015–16[18] Scottish Premiership 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 1
2016–17[19] 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
2017–18[20] 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[21] Scottish League One 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 4 0
Alloa Athletic (loan) 2018–19[21] Scottish Championship 10 1 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 11 1
Forest Green Rovers (loan) 2019–20[22] EFL League Two 28 5 2 1 0 0 — 0 0 30 6
Barnsley 2020–21 EFL Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2021-22 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2022-23[23] EFL League One 20 3 1 0 1 0 — 1[a] 0 23 3
Total 20 3 1 0 1 0 — 1 0 23 3
Stevenage (loan) 2020–21[24] EFL League Two 26 1 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 27 1
Forest Green Rovers (loan) 2021–22[25] 46 5 1 1 2 1 — 4[b] 0 53 7
Motherwell 2022–23[23] Scottish Premiership 10 0 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 11 0
Exeter City 2023–24[26] EFL League One 37 4 1 0 1 0 — 2[b] 0 41 4
2024–25[27] 20 0 3 0 1 0 — 2[a] 1 26 1
Total 57 4 4 0 2 0 — 4 1 67 5
Career total 190 20 8 2 5 1 0 0 15 4 218 27

Notes

  1. ^ Matches in the Scottish Challenge Cup, in which teams from the SPFL Development League compete against senior clubs

Honours

Forest Green Rovers

Notes

  1. ^ a b Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

  1. ^ "EFL – Squad List 2020/21: Barnsley – Under 21 Contract Players" (PDF). English Football League. p. 9. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Jack Aitchison". Barnsley F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Jack Aitchison pledges his future to the Hoops". Celtic FC. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  4. ^ Herron, Lindsay (18 May 2016). "Celtic's Jack Aitchison graduates with honours". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b "J. Aitchison". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Celtic 3 Rangers 0: Young Hoops claim Scottish Youth Cup glory". The Herald. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  7. ^ Hamouda, Omar (15 May 2016). "Jack Aitchison becomes Celtic's youngest ever goalscorer". Squawka. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Jack Aitchison". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  9. ^ McConnell, Alison (30 January 2017). "Smiles all round as record breakers Celtic crush Hearts". Evening Times. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. ^ Galloway, Andy (31 August 2018). "LOAN DEAL FOR STRIKER". Dumbarton Football Club.
  11. ^ "Celtic: Striker Jack Aitchison joins Alloa Athletic on loan". BBC Sport. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Laing, Connor (8 September 2019). "MATCH REPORT: Cambridge United 0 Forest Green Rovers 1". Forest Green Rovers F.C. Retrieved 8 September 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ "JACK AITCHISON SIGNS FOR THE REDS!". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk. 5 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Aitchison returns to Nailsworth". www.fgr.co.uk. 2 July 2021.
  16. ^ McGilvray, Andy (31 January 2023). "Ex-Celtic striker snapped up by Motherwell in deadline-busting deal". Daily Record. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  17. ^ "✍️ Welcome, Jack Aitchison!". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  23. ^ a b "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Games played by Jack Aitchison in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  28. ^ "Mansfield Town 2–2 Forest Green Rovers: Draw seals title for Rovers". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.