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Kenny McLean

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For the musician, see Kenny MacLean.

Kenny McLean
McLean warming up for Norwich City in 2021
Personal information
Full name Kenneth McLean[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-08) 8 January 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Rutherglen, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder, left midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Norwich City
Number 23
Youth career
Aberdeen
2006–2008 Rangers
2008–2009 St Mirren
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2015 St Mirren 131 (20)
2009–2010 → Arbroath (loan) 20 (1)
2015–2018 Aberdeen 111 (13)
2018– Norwich City 219 (9)
2018 → Aberdeen (loan) 15 (5)
International career‡
2010 Scotland U19 1 (0)
2011–2014 Scotland U21 11 (0)
2016– Scotland 42 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:15, 27 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 June 2024 (UTC)

Kenneth McLean (born 8 January 1992) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder or left midfielder for EFL Championship club Norwich City and the Scotland national team.

After being released by Rangers' youth team, McLean started his senior career at SPL club St Mirren. He went on loan to Second Division side Arbroath for the second half of the 2009–10 season, before returning to St Mirren and breaking into the first team. He moved to Aberdeen in 2015. In January 2018, he joined Norwich City but was loaned back to Aberdeen until the end of the season.

He represented Scotland at the under-19 and under-21 international levels before making his debut for the senior Scotland team in 2016.

Club career

[edit]

Early life and career

[edit]

McLean was born in Rutherglen and attended Cathkin High School in Cambuslang.[3][4] He spent time with the youth setups of both Aberdeen and Rangers as a schoolboy.[5][6] In 2008, he decided not to renew his Rangers contract and joined St Mirren.[7]

Arbroath (loan)

[edit]

McLean moved on loan from St Mirren to Second Division club Arbroath in December 2009. Arbroath signed McLean, along with Kilmarnock striker Daniel McKay, to cover for injuries.[8] On 12 December, McLean made his debut for Arbroath in a 4–3 loss to Stirling Albion. Shortly after this match, Arbroath signed McLean's St Mirren teammate Kyle Faulds on loan.[9] On 10 April, McLean scored his only goal for Arbroath, a penalty kick in a 4–2 loss against Stirling Albion.[10] He made a total of 23 appearances during the second half of the 2009–10 season.[11] Arbroath were relegated to the Third Division at the end of the season, after losing to Forfar Athletic in the relegation play-off.[12] McLean has said that his loan spell at Arbroath helped him develop as a player and also to become more mature.[13]

St Mirren

[edit]
McLean playing for St Mirren in 2013

Eighteen-year-old McLean made his debut on 17 October 2010, coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw against Hamilton. St Mirren were 2–0 down when he came on and their manager, Danny Lennon, thought that they were going to lose anyway so he would bring a youngster on. However, The Herald noted that McLean's "drive and energy" lifted St Mirren and helped them to turn the game around and get a draw.[14] Three days after his debut, McLean made his first start for St Mirren, in a 3–0 loss to Hearts.[15] Later in the week he signed a three-year contract extension, tying him to the club until 2014.[4] He then made his first home start, in a 1–0 loss to Celtic on 16 November. After this match he thanked his manager for having faith in him and also said that he was amazed by the fact that only six months before he was playing in the Second Division relegation play-off, but was now playing against some of the best players in the country.[16] He went on to make a total of 23 appearances during the 2010–11 season.[17]

Sky Sports said that during the 2011–12 season McLean had begun to emerge as one of the top young talents in the SPL.[18] His first game of the season was on 6 August, in a 1–1 draw against Dundee United, where he came on as an 80th-minute substitute.[19] His first start came a week later in a 1–0 loss to Motherwell.[20] McLean then played regularly in the first team over the next few months and was in excellent form.[21][22][23] He scored his first senior goal in a 1–0 win over St Johnstone on 29 October[24] and was rewarded with the SPL Young Player of the Month award for October 2011.[25] After this, teammate Gary Teale said that he thought McLean was very similar to former Rangers and Scotland captain Barry Ferguson, and that he thought McLean would have a brilliant future in the game.[26] In the weeks leading up to his award, McLean had been watched by English Championship clubs Burnley and Crystal Palace, with Celtic also reportedly interested in him.[18] Lennon encouraged interest from other clubs, saying that he took it as a compliment to McLean's development. But he also said that he would not consider selling McLean in the near future and expressed his delight at the fact that he had already signed McLean on a long-term contract.[27] On 19 November, McLean scored his second goal for St Mirren, in a 2–1 win over Dunfermline Athletic.[28] He then scored St Mirren's first goal, on 10 December, as they came from behind to secure a 2–2 draw against Aberdeen.[29] McLean was one of the four players nominated for the SPL young Player of the Year Award.[30] In January 2014 it was announced that McLean would be out-of-action for 6 weeks following knee surgery.[31]

On 2 July 2014 it was announced that McLean had a signed a two-year contract extension with the club, following much speculation that he would leave the club in the summer.[32]

Aberdeen

[edit]

McLean signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Aberdeen on 2 February 2015, for a reported transfer fee of around £300,000.[6][33][34] He made his debut for the club the following weekend in a league game against Ross County, which Aberdeen won 4–0.[35] On 16 July 2015, McLean scored his first goal for Aberdeen in a 3–0 win away to HNK Rijeka in the second qualifying round first leg of the Europa League.[36] McLean scored his first league goal for Aberdeen in a 1–0 win over Dundee United on the opening day of the 2015–16 season.[37]

In November 2017, McLean confirmed that he would not be renewing his Aberdeen contract when it expired the following summer.[38]

Having helped the team to finish runners-up in the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership[39] – as in each of his other three campaigns with the club – McLean finally departed Aberdeen after making 158 appearances and scoring 25 goals during his spell at Pittodrie (including the loan back after signing for Norwich).[40]

Norwich City

[edit]

McLean was sold in January 2018 to Norwich City, who loaned him back to Aberdeen for the rest of the season.[41][42][43]

Having missed a portion of his first season in English football with an ankle ligament injury,[44] in December 2018 he commented that he was determined to prove he was good enough.[45] He returned to the Canaries team to help the club gain promotion to the Premier League as winners of the 2018–19 EFL Championship, with his enthusiastic title celebrations (addressing the crowd of supporters as the 'Mayor of Norwich' with a ceremonial hat and bottle of fortified wine) receiving media attention.[46][47][48] In the 2019 close season, he signed an improved contract.[44]

In September 2023, McLean signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2025–26 season, with an option for a further one-year extension.[49] In November 2023, he defended manager David Wagner after the team took one point from a possible 18.[50] In January 2024 he said he wanted to improve his goal record.[51] In February 2024 he was credited with helping the club's turn around in results.[52]

He was named Norwich's Player of the Season for the 2023–24 season.[53]

International career

[edit]

McLean received his first call-up for Scotland under-19 squad in October 2010, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute in a 4–2 victory over Norway.[54]

In March 2011, he was called up to the under-21 team.[55][56] Making his debut, again from the bench, as Scotland beat Belgium 1–0.[57] He was not selected for the Scotland under-21 team to play in a 2013 European Under-21 Football Championship qualification match against the Netherlands on 14 November 2011.[27] St Mirren manager Danny Lennon expressed his surprise at McLean being left out of the squad. The Herald said that this was understandable given that he was "among the on-form midfielders of his age group" at the time.[27]

McLean received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in March 2016 for a friendly match against Czech Republic,[58] making his debut by playing 57 minutes.[59][60] He was called up again in October 2017 for a friendly match against the Netherlands.[61] McLean scored his first Scotland goal in March 2019 in a 2–0 away win against San Marino.[62]

McLean scored the winning penalties as Scotland beat Israel[63] and Serbia in shootouts to secure qualification for UEFA Euro 2020 via playoffs.[64] McLean missed the tournament itself due to a knee ligament injury suffered in the last game of the 2020–21 EFL Championship season.[65]

In June 2023, McLean scored the winning goal in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Norway.[66]

On 7 June 2024, McLean was named in Scotland's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany.[67] A week later, he appeared as a 67th minute substitute for John McGinn in the opening match of the tournament, where Scotland lost 5–1 to hosts Germany.[68] He went on to appear as a substitute against both Switzerland and Hungary as Scotland finished bottom of Group A with one point from three matches.[69][70] He later said that his national teammates were "desperate" to improve results.[71]

Style of play

[edit]

McLean's favoured position is as a central midfielder, but he can also play as a left midfielder. He has said that he favours playing in the centre because he can get more of the ball and influence play more than when he is on the left. He is a naturally attacking player and when playing in the centre he makes runs to and beyond the striker which adds an extra dimension to his team's play.[72]

Former Scotland international, and McLean's teammate at St Mirren, Gary Teale has compared him to Barry Ferguson. Teale said that McLean had shown incredible maturity at such a young age and that from their first training session together he could see McLean's talent. McLean has an excellent first touch and is also very composed and assured on the ball. McLean also has very high energy, work rate and athleticism which enable him to make many attacking runs.[26] McLean's manager at St Mirren, Danny Lennon, said that he thought McLean was an excellent passer and that he could "open a tin of beans" with his left foot and was also decent with his right. Lennon also said that McLean was a rare type of Scottish player because he was always looking for a 'slide-rule' pass and he was actually capable of delivering them.[27]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 27 October 2024[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
St Mirren 2009–10 Scottish Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
2010–11 Scottish Premier League 19 0 4 0 0 0 – 23 0
2011–12 Scottish Premier League 28 4 3 0 2 0 – 33 4
2012–13 Scottish Premier League 29 3 1 1 3 2 – 33 6
2013–14 Scottish Premiership 30 6 3 1 1 0 – 34 7
2014–15 Scottish Premiership 25 7 2 0 2 0 – 29 7
Total 131 20 13 2 8 2 – 152 24
Arbroath (loan) 2009–10 Scottish Second Division 20 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 23 1
Aberdeen 2014–15 Scottish Premiership 13 0 0 0 0 0 – 13 0
2015–16 Scottish Premiership 38 6 1 0 1 0 5 3 45 9
2016–17 Scottish Premiership 38 4 5 0 4 1 6 0 53 5
2017–18 Scottish Premiership 22 3 1 0 2 1 4 0 29 4
Total 111 13 7 0 7 2 15 3 140 18
Norwich City 2017–18 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
2018–19 Championship 20 3 1 0 1 0 – 22 3
2019–20 Premier League 37 1 4 0 1 0 – 42 1
2020–21 Championship 38 2 1 0 0 0 – 39 2
2021–22 Premier League 31 1 3 1 1 1 – 35 3
2022–23 Championship 35 1 1 0 2 0 – 38 1
2023–24 Championship 46 1 2 1 2 0 2[c] 0 52 2
2024–25 Championship 12 0 0 0 2 0 – 14 0
Total 219 9 12 2 9 0 2 0 242 12
Aberdeen (loan) 2017–18 Scottish Premiership 15 5 3 2 0 0 – 18 7
Career total 496 48 35 6 24 5 20 3 575 62
  1. ^ Includes Scottish Cup and FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Scottish League Cup and EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs

International

[edit]
As of match played 18 November 2024[73]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2016 1 0
2017 1 0
2018 3 0
2019 5 1
2020 7 0
2021 7 0
2022 4 0
2023 8 1
2024 12 0
Total 48 2
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.[74]
List of international goals scored by Kenny McLean
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 24 March 2019 San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
2. 17 June 2023 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway  Norway 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

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Norwich City

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b Kenny McLean at Soccerbase
  3. ^ Ferguson, David (26 February 2014). "Duncan Weir happy to be Glasgow's flag-bearer". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Football: Shining performance from Cambuslang lad in SPL". Rutherglen Reformer. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  5. ^ "St Mirren kid Kenny McLean jokes Rangers-mad dad could kick him out for helping Buddies draw at Ibrox". Daily Record. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Kenny McLean returns to club he walked out on". Daily Express. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Through the Ranks: Kenny McLean". St Mirren F.C. 15 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  8. ^ "SPL youth duo join Red Lichties". BBC Sport. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Buddies' Faulds joins Arbroath". BBC Sport. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Arbroath 2 – 4 Stirling Albion : Saturday". Scottish Football League. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Prized asset McLean lifted by Levein's TV name check". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Willing conscript McLean ready for national service". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  13. ^ "St Mirren ace Kenny McLean: Loan spell at Arbroath has helped me take SPL by storm". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  14. ^ "St Mirren 2 Hamilton 2: Teenage kicks hush undertones". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  15. ^ "Kenny McLean delight at St Mirren extension". BBC Sport. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  16. ^ "Saints teenager Kenny homing in on start slot". Evening Times. Herald & Times Group. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  17. ^ "Games played by Kenny McLean in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  18. ^ a b "McLean ignoring speculation". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  19. ^ "St Mirren 1–1 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  20. ^ "St Mirren 0–1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  21. ^ "Games played by Kenny McLean in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  22. ^ "Lennon hails 'King' Kenny". Paisley Daily Express. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  23. ^ "Kenny McLean – Young Player of the Month". St Mirren F.C. 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  24. ^ "St Johnstone 0–1 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  25. ^ "SPL young player award for St Mirren's Kenny McLean". BBC Sport. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  26. ^ a b "Gaz: Buddies kid Kenny reminds me of young Baz". Evening Times. Herald & Times Group. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  27. ^ a b c d "Manager encourages clubs to look at McLean". HeraldScotland. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  28. ^ "Saints too strong for Pars". UK Press Association. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.[dead link‍]
  29. ^ "Aberdeen 2 – 2 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  30. ^ "Lennon: McLean top class". The Press Association. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.[dead link‍]
  31. ^ "St Mirren's Kenny McLean to undergo knee surgery". BBC Sport. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  32. ^ "St Mirren: Kenny McLean signs new two year contract". BBC Sport. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  33. ^ "Dons sign Kenny McLean for £275,000". evening express. evening express. 2 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  34. ^ "Kenny McLean completes move from St Mirren to Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  35. ^ "Aberdeen 4 – 0 Ross County". BBC Sport. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  36. ^ Davie, Scott (16 July 2015). "HNK Rijeka 0–3 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  37. ^ "Dundee United 0–1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 2 August 2015.
  38. ^ "I want to leave Aberdeen on a high, says Kenny McLean". evening express. evening express. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  39. ^ "Aberdeen win at champions Celtic to secure second place in the Scottish Premiership". BBC Sport. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  40. ^ "Kenny McLean". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  41. ^ "City complete deal for Kenny McLean". Norwich City FC. 22 January 2018.
  42. ^ "Aberdeen's Kenny McLean heads for Norwich City". BBC Sport. 21 January 2018.
  43. ^ "Kenny McLean: Norwich City sign midfielder and loan him back to Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 22 January 2018.
  44. ^ a b Kenny McLean signs new Norwich City contract, Norwich City FC, 17 June 2019
  45. ^ Guidi, Mark (17 December 2018). "Former Aberdeen star Kenny McLean: "I need to get back playing as soon as possible to prove I'm good enough for English football"". Sunday Post.
  46. ^ Kenny McLean toasts Norwich City title in classic Glasgow fashion with a bottle of MadDog 2020, Daily Record, 6 May 2019
  47. ^ Ex-Don McLean 'extends' bank holiday in role of 'mayor' after Norwich's Premier League promotion, Evening Express, 7 May 2019
  48. ^ From MD 20/20 to Euro 2020 – Mayor of Norwich Kenny McLean is now looking to toast Scotland success, The Herald, 5 June 2019
  49. ^ "McLean agrees extended deal with Norwich". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  50. ^ "Norwich must stop gifting goals - McLean". BBC Sport. 6 November 2023.
  51. ^ "Kenny McLean: Norwich City midfielder hopes to improve scoring record". 25 January 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  52. ^ "'We had some honest conversations' - Norwich City's Kenny McLean". BBC Sport. 22 February 2024.
  53. ^ "Kenny McLean is named Norwich City Player of the Season". BBC Sport. 25 April 2024.
  54. ^ "Kenneth McLean". Scottish FA.
  55. ^ "Darren Cole and Kenny McLean given Scots Under-21 call". BBC Sport. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  56. ^ "Scotland U21 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  57. ^ "Kenneth McLean | Scotland | Scottish FA". Scottish FA.
  58. ^ "Scotland: Six new call-ups for Czech Republic and Denmark friendlies". BBC Sport. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  59. ^ "Czech Republic 0–1 Scotland: Kenny McLean hungry for more caps". BBC Sport. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  60. ^ "Scotland profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  61. ^ "Scotland: Interim manager Malky Mackay calls up three new faces for friendly". BBC Sport. 30 October 2017.
  62. ^ "San Marino 0-2 Scotland: Alex McLeish booed despite win". BBC Sport. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  63. ^ Murray, Ewan (8 October 2020). "McLean holds nerve in Israel shootout to keep Scotland dreaming of Euro 2020". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  64. ^ "Norwich City's Kenny McLean scores decisive penalty as Scotland book place at Euro 2020". ITV. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  65. ^ "Kenny McLean: Scotland lose Norwich City midfielder for rescheduled Euro 2020". BBC Sport. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  66. ^ Davitt, Paddy (17 June 2023). "Norwich City: Kenny McLean stars in Scotland 2-1 Euro2024 win". The Pink Un. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  67. ^ "Record-breaking goalkeeper Gordon out of Scotland's Euro 2024 squad". Reuters. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  68. ^ "Ruthless Germany humble 10-man Scotland in Euro 2024 opener". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  69. ^ "Scotland 1-1 Switzerland: Clarke's men keep Group A hopes alive". UEFA. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  70. ^ "Scotland vs Hungary: Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  71. ^ "Scotland: Kenny McLean says side 'desperate' to end poor run". BBC Sport. 10 October 2024.
  72. ^ "Saints star's hopes for a central perk". Glasgow Evening Times. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  73. ^ Kenny McLean at the Scottish Football Association
  74. ^ "Kenny McLean". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  75. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2019). Football Yearbook 2019–2020. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 258–259. ISBN 978-1-4722-6111-3.
  76. ^ "McLean named as Anglian Home Improvements Player of the Season". Norwich City FC. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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