Ross Stewart (footballer, born 1996)

For the goalkeeper, see Ross Stewart (footballer, born 1995).

Ross Stewart

Personal information
Full name	Ross Cameron Stewart [1]
Date of birth	(1996-07-11) 11 July 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Irvine, Scotland
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Southampton
Number	11
Youth career
	St Mirren
	Celtic
	Partick Thistle
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Ardeer Thistle
2015–2016	Kilwinning Rangers
2016–2017	Albion Rovers	25	(12)
2017–2018	St Mirren	10	(0)
2017–2018	→ Alloa Athletic (loan)	19	(7)
2018–2021	Ross County	63	(15)
2021–2023	Sunderland	70	(36)
2023–	Southampton	7	(0)
International career
2022	Scotland	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:22, 5 October 2024 (UTC)

Ross Cameron Stewart (born 11 July 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Southampton.

He began his career with Ardeer Thistle and Kilwinning Rangers before joining Albion Rovers in 2016. After one season, Stewart moved to St Mirren and went on loan to Alloa Athletic. In 2018, he joined Ross County, spending three seasons with the club before joining Sunderland in 2021 and helping them win promotion to the Championship. Stewart then signed for Southampton in 2023.

Club career

Junior League

After spells with the youth systems of professional clubs, ^[2] Stewart started his career in the Scottish Juniors with Ardeer Thistle and Kilwinning Rangers, before making the step-up to senior football with Albion Rovers in July 2016. ^[3] The part-time Coatbridge club were unable to pay the £1,500 transfer fee, with the funds instead provided by their supporters' club members and by Stewart's father. ^[4]

St Mirren

After just one season with Albion Rovers, Stewart signed for Scottish Championship club St Mirren on a two-year full-time contract (a goalkeeper with the same name also joined at the time). ^[5] Stewart scored on his debut for the Paisley club in a Scottish League Cup win versus Stranraer ^[6] but failed to break into the first-team and was loaned out to Scottish League One club Alloa Athletic in December 2017, for the remainder of the season. ^[7]

Ross County

On 10 August 2018, Stewart signed for Ross County. ^[8] He made his debut for the club in a 2–1 victory in the Scottish Challenge Cup against Heart of Midlothian Colts. Stewart scored his first goal for the club in the next round of the cup in a win against Montrose. He finished his first season at Ross County with 11 goals, three of them coming against County's Rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle as Ross County were promoted to the Scottish Premiership.

Sunderland

On 31 January 2021, Stewart joined English side Sunderland for an undisclosed fee. ^[9] Stewart scored on his Sunderland debut after coming on as a substitute against Accrington Stanley in a 2–0 away win on 17 March 2021. ^[10] He was later given the nickname 'Loch Ness Drogba' by Sunderland supporters in reference to his Scottish heritage and comparisons with prolific former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. ^[11]

On 21 May 2022, Stewart scored the second goal in the 2022 EFL League One play-off final as Sunderland defeated Wycombe Wanderers 2–0 to gain promotion back to the EFL Championship. He finished the season as the league's joint top goalscorer with 26 goals and was later voted the PFA Fans' Player of the Year for League One. ^[12]

During a 1–1 draw with Fulham on 28 January 2023 in the FA Cup fourth round, he was forced off in the first half after suffering an achilles injury. ^[13] A week later, it was confirmed that Stewart would miss the remainder of the 2022–23 season. ^[14]

Southampton

On 1 September 2023, Stewart joined Southampton on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. ^[15] He made his debut for the club on 11 November 2023 in a 2–1 victory against West Bromwich Albion, replacing Adam Armstrong in the 83rd minute. ^[16] During Southampton's 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town on 25 November 2023, Stewart picked up an injury, with manager Russell Martin later confirming he was expected to be sidelined until late January. ^{[17] [18]} On 22 December 2023, it was confirmed that the injury to his hamstring would rule Stewart out for the rest of the season. ^[19] Stewart returned from injury in a 1–2 victory against Leeds United on the final day of the 2023–24 season, replacing Adam Armstrong in the 83rd minute. ^[20]

On 14 September 2024, Stewart made his first Premier League appearance in a 3–0 home defeat against Manchester United after he replaced Cameron Archer in the 62nd minute. ^[21] During his first start for the club since his permanent transfer, on 5 October 2024, Stewart suffered a muscle injury in a 3–1 defeat against Arsenal. ^[22]

International career

Stewart received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in March 2022 whilst playing for Sunderland. ^[23] He made his international debut on 8 June 2022, appearing as a substitute in a Nations League game against Armenia. ^[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 October 2024 ^[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Albion Rovers	2016–17	Scottish League One	25	12	2	0	5	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	33	12
St Mirren	2017–18	Scottish Championship	9	0	1	0	4	1	3 [lower-alpha 3]	1	17	2
	2018–19	Scottish Premiership	1	0	0	0	3	1	—		4	1
	Total		10	0	1	0	7	2	3	1	21	3
Alloa Athletic (loan)	2017–18	Scottish League One	19	7	0	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 4]	3	23	10
Ross County	2018–19	Scottish Championship	23	6	3	2	0	0	6 [lower-alpha 3]	3	32	11
	2019–20	Scottish Premiership	21	7	0	0	5	4	—		26	11
	2020–21	Scottish Premiership	19	2	0	0	5	4	—		24	6
	Total		63	15	3	2	10	8	6	3	82	28
Sunderland	2020–21 [26]	League One	11	2	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 5]	1	13	3
	2021–22 [27]	League One	46	24	0	0	4	0	3 [lower-alpha 5]	2	53	26
	2022–23 [28]	Championship	13	10	2	1	0	0	—		15	11
	2023–24 [29]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		70	36	2	1	4	0	5	3	81	40
Southampton	2023–24 [29]	Championship	3	0	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	4	0
	2024–25 [30]	Premier League	4	0	0	0	1	0	—		5	0
	Total		7	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	9	0
Career total			187	67	8	3	27	10	20	10	249	93

1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
3. Appearance(s) in Scottish Challenge Cup
4. Appearances in Scottish Championship play-offs
5. Appearances in League One play-offs
6. Appearance in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 11 June 2022 ^[31]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	2022	2	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Ross County

• Scottish Championship: 2018–19 ^[32]
• Scottish Challenge Cup: 2018–19 ^[33]

Sunderland

• EFL Trophy: 2020–21 ^[34]
• EFL League One play-offs: 2022 ^[35]

Southampton

• EFL Championship play-offs: 2024 ^[36]

Individual

• PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2021–22 League One ^[12]
• PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 EFL League One ^[37]
• EFL League One Team of the Season: 2021–22 ^[38]
• Sunderland Player of the Year: 2021–22 ^[39]

References

1. "Club list of registered players: Sunderland" (PDF). English Football League. p. 64. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
2. Ross Stewart: Sunderland striker caps rise from juniors with Scotland call-up, BBC Sport, 21 March 2022
3. "Ross Stewart to sign for Rovers". albionroversfc.co.uk. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
4. Ross Stewart's Kilwinning Rangers to Albion Rovers transfer paid by his dad to give him SPFL shot Daily Record, 1 October 2020
5. "St Mirren: Two Ross Stewarts sign for Buddies from Albion Rovers". BBC Sport. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
6. "Stranraer 1-4 St Mirren match report". BBC Sport. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
7. "Ross Stewart joins Alloa Athletic on loan". stmirren.com. 21 December 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
8. "Ross County confirm signing of St Mirren striker Ross Stewart". Press and Journal. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
9. "Stewart departs Staggies". Ross County FC - Official Site. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
10. "Accrington Stanley 0-2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
11. Wilson, Scott (30 August 2021). "Ross Stewart discusses his 'Loch Ness Drogba' nickname". Sunderland Echo . Retrieved 30 May 2022.
12. Hewitt, Matty (30 May 2022). "Sunderland forward Ross Stewart wins League One PFA Vertu Motors Fans' Player of the Year". Evening Chronicle . Retrieved 30 May 2022.
13. "Ross Stewart: Sunderland striker's Achilles injury 'bad', says Tony Mowbray". BBC Sport. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
14. "Ross Stewart: Sunderland striker out for season after Achilles injury". BBC Sport. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
15. "Saints swoop for Sunderland striker Stewart". Southampton FC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
16. "Southampton 2–1 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
17. "Stewart and Kamaldeen set for spell on the sidelines". Southampton FC. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
18. House, Alfie (1 December 2023). "Southampton's Stewart and Kamaldeen sidelined until the New Year". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
19. "Stewart unlikely to feature again this season". Southampton FC. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
20. "Stewart return delights Martin". Southampton FC. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
21. Rose, Gary (14 September 2024). "Southampton 0–3 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
22. House, Alfie (5 October 2024). "Martin issues Stewart update as Southampton striker injured". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
23. "Scotland: Sunderland striker Ross Stewart, Hearts defender Craig Halkett & St Johnstone keeper Zander Clark called up". BBC Sport. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
24. Skinner, Andy (9 June 2022). "Ross Stewart says Scotland debut has settled him into national team setup". Press & Journal. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
25. Ross Stewart at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
26. "Games played by Ross Stewart in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
27. "Games played by Ross Stewart in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
28. "Games played by Ross Stewart in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
29. "Games played by Ross Stewart in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
30. "Games played by Ross Stewart in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
31. Ross Stewart at the Scottish Football Association
32. "Ross County Secure title and promotion". BBC Sport. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
33. "Ross County lifted the Challenge Cup for a third time". BBC Sport. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
34. Pilnick, Brent (14 March 2021). "Sunderland 1–0 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
35. Paddy, Chris (21 May 2022). "Sunderland 2–0 Wycombe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
36. "Leeds United 0–1 Southampton: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
37. "Mohamed Salah and Sam Kerr win PFA player of year awards". BBC Sport. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
38. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". EFL.com. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
39. "Player of the Season accolades awarded". Sunderland Association Football Club. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.

External links

• Ross Stewart at Soccerbase
• Ross Stewart at Soccerbase
• Profile at the Southampton F.C. website