Luke McCowan

Luke McCowan
McCowan in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-12-09) 9 December 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Greenock, Scotland
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, left winger
Team information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 14
Youth career
East End United F.C.
2015–2017 Ayr United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Ayr United 56 (10)
2021–2024 Dundee 99 (23)
2024– Celtic 12 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:01, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

Luke McCowan (born 9 December 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or left winger for Scottish Premiership club Celtic.

Early life

McCowan was born in Greenock, Scotland[1] and attended Notre Dame High School.[1]

Career

Youth career

In 2015, McCowan won the West of Scotland Title with East End United F.C.[1] While at the Ayr United's youth teams, he had a busy day as he had to be up at 5am to work as a lifeguard at Waterfront Leisure Complex before attending gym sessions in the afternoon, then driving for over an hour to train with Ayr.[1]

Ayr United

On 1 July 2017, McCowan signed his first professional contract for Ayr United lasting one year.[1] In his first season, he made five appearances, scoring one goal in all competitions, with one appearance coming in the League. On 6 June 2019, it was announced that McCowan had been given a two-year contract after getting rave reviews from the game against Partick Thistle in late April.[2]

Dundee

On 1 June 2021, McCowan signed a two-year deal with Scottish Premiership side Dundee.[3] He made his debut for the club in the Scottish League Cup against Brora Rangers.[4] McCowan would get his first competitive goal for the Dee the following week against Montrose.[5] He would later score his first Premiership goal which clinched a win over Aberdeen.[6]

In December 2022, McCowan would score a brace away against his former club Ayr United to help Dundee win and put them top of the Scottish Championship for Christmas.[7] McCowan would conclude a strong season with an excellent performance and goal against Queen's Park to help Dundee clinch the Scottish Championship title.[8]

On 4 June 2023, Dundee announced that McCowan had signed a new two-year deal, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.[9] McCowan would mark his 100th appearance for the Dark Blues with an eventful performance, scoring a goal and receiving a red card in a comfortable away win over Livingston.[10] Near the end of a successful season which saw Dundee reach top six and McCowan switch from the wing to centre midfielder with ease and captaining the squad following an injury to Joe Shaughnessy, McCowan was awarded as the Scottish Premiership Player of the Month for April 2024.[11][12] At the end of the season, McCowan was named Dundee's Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year.[13]

Celtic

On 30 August 2024, McCowan signed for Scottish champions Celtic on a three-year deal, for a reported fee of around £1 million.[14] McCowan made his Celtic debut on 1 September, coming on as a substitute in an Old Firm win over Rangers.[15] McCowan opened his scoring account for his boyhood club in his next game, netting at home in a win against Hearts.[16] On 23 October, McCowan made his UEFA Champions League debut off the bench in a draw in Italy away to Atalanta.[17]

Style of play

McCowan is left footed and right handed. A versatile player, he often plays across all sides of the midfield and even sometimes plays as a winger.[1]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 December 2024
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ayr United 2017–18[18] Scottish League One 1 0 1 0 1 0 — 2[a] 1 5 1
2018–19[19] Scottish Championship 5 0 1 0 0 0 — 3[b] 1 9 1
2019–20[20] Scottish Championship 24 5 2 0 4 3 — 1[a] 0 31 8
2020–21[21] Scottish Championship 26 5 2 2 5 2 — — 33 9
Total 56 10 6 2 10 5 — 6 2 78 19
Dundee 2021–22[22] Scottish Premiership 29 4 3 0 4 1 — — 36 5
2022–23[23] Scottish Championship 30 7 2 1 5 1 — 3[a] 1 40 10
2023–24[24] Scottish Premiership 37 10 1 0 3 0 — — 41 10
2024–25[25] Scottish Premiership 3 2 — 5 1 — — 8 3
Total 99 23 6 1 17 3 — 3 1 125 28
Celtic 2024–25[25] Scottish Premiership 12 3 0 0 — 2[c] 0 — 14 3
Career total 167 36 12 3 27 8 2 0 9 3 217 50
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. ^ One appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup, two appearances and one goal in Scottish Premiership play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Dundee

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Corner, Paul John (11 June 2017). "Greenock footballer nets deal at Ayr United". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Greenock footballer ready to make impact at Ayr United". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Luke signs". dundeefc.co.uk. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Dundee v Brora Rangers". BBC. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Montrose v Dundee". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Aberdeen woes deepen as Dundee win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  7. ^ "McCowan double as Dundee beat Ayr to go top". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Dundee back in Premiership after eight-goal epic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  9. ^ "McCowan signs new deal". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Martindale future a 'conundrum' as Dundee thrash Livingston". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Luke McCowan wins April award | SPFL". spfl.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Dundee: McCowan named Premiership player of the month". BBC Sport. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "2024 DSA Player of the year winners". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  14. ^ Pirie, Mark (30 August 2024). "Luke McCowan seals Celtic transfer as midfielder makes last gasp Dundee exit". Daily Record. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Celtic 3-0 Rangers: Scottish Premiership". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Celtic 2-0 Hearts: Scottish Premiership". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Atalanta 0-0 Celtic: Brendan Rodgers' side secure hard-fought Champions League point". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Games played by Luke McCowan in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2024.