Scott McKenna

Scott McKenna

Personal information
Full name	Scott Fraser Lowe McKenna [1]
Date of birth	(1996-11-12) 12 November 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Kirriemuir, Scotland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.89 m) [2]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Las Palmas
Number	15
Youth career
2008–2014	Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2020	Aberdeen	91	(5)
2015	→ Ayr United (loan)	12	(0)
2016	→ Alloa Athletic (loan)	4	(0)
2016–2017	→ Ayr United (loan)	11	(1)
2020–2024	Nottingham Forest	94	(3)
2024	→ Copenhagen (loan)	13	(0)
2024–	Las Palmas	4	(0)
International career‡
2013–2015	Scotland U19 [3]	14	(0)
2017	Scotland U21	5	(0)
2018–	Scotland	39	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:55, 8 September 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:55, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

Scott Fraser McKenna (born 12 November 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Las Palmas and the Scotland national team.

Club career

Aberdeen

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". ^[4]

McKenna made his professional debut for Aberdeen as a substitute against St Johnstone on 6 February 2016. ^[5] His first start came against Heart of Midlothian on 16 May 2016. ^{[6] [7]} On 22 May 2016, he signed a new two-year contract with Aberdeen, ^[4] In November 2016, McKenna moved on loan to Scottish Championship side Ayr United for 28 days, his second time on loan with the club. ^[8] His loan was subsequently extended until the end of the season. ^[9]

In October 2017, McKenna extended his Aberdeen contract until 2021. The club rejected a bid from Hull City to buy him in January 2018. ^[10] 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. ^[11] On 7 March 2018, McKenna signed a new contract extension until 2023. ^[12]

Aberdeen rejected an offer of £3.5 million for McKenna from Celtic in August 2018. ^[13] Later in August, Aberdeen rejected a larger offer from Aston Villa. ^[14] 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. ^[15]

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. ^[16] McKenna suffered a torn hamstring during a Scottish Cup tie at St Mirren on 29 February 2020. ^[17]

In August 2020 he was one of eight Aberdeen players who received a suspended three-match ban from the Scottish FA after they breached restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic by visiting a bar earlier in the month. ^[18] Aberdeen entered transfer negotiations with Nottingham Forest regarding McKenna in September 2020, which meant that he was left out of the Aberdeen team for a match with Motherwell. ^[19]

Nottingham Forest

On 23 September 2020, McKenna moved to EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee, ^[20] confirmed by Aberdeen as a "club-record" amount ^[21] reported to be £3 million that could rise to £6 million. ^[22] He made his Forest debut on 25 September 2020 in a 1–0 defeat to Huddersfield Town. ^[23] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win over Coventry City on 4 November 2020. ^[24] He was voted as Forest's Player of the Season for the 2021–22 campaign, ^[25] during which they won promotion to the Premier League. ^[26] McKenna missed significant parts of the 2022–23 season due to hamstring and collarbone injuries. ^[26]

On 30 January 2024, McKenna joined Danish Superliga club Copenhagen on loan for the remainder of the season. ^[27] On 5 June 2024, Forest announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired. ^[28]

Las Palmas

On 8 August 2024, McKenna joined Las Palmas on a three-year contract. ^[29]

International career

McKenna captained the Scotland under-19s in a 2–2 draw with the Czech Republic in 2014. ^[30] McKenna made his first appearance for the Scotland under-21s in September 2017. ^[31]

McKenna was selected for the full national squad in March 2018, ^[32] and made his full international debut in a 1–0 defeat against Costa Rica on 23 March. ^[33] In his fourth game for Scotland, a 1–0 defeat to Mexico on 2 June 2018, McKenna was made team captain. ^[34] On 11 October 2018, McKenna came on a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat against Israel, marking his competitive debut for Scotland. ^[35]

On 7 June 2024, McKenna was named in Scotland's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany. ^[36] He appeared in all three of the team's matches at the tournament, coming on as a substitute against both Germany ^[37] and Switzerland, before starting against Hungary as Scotland finished bottom of Group A with one point from three matches. ^{[38] [39]}

Personal life

A pupil at Webster's High School in Kirriemuir, ^[40] McKenna supported Rangers as a boy. ^[41] He is distantly related to the late Alan Gilzean, who was a cousin of McKenna's maternal grandmother. ^[41] His father Ian played semi-professionally in the Scottish Football League for Forfar Athletic and Montrose in the 1990s. ^{[41] [42]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 August 2024 ^[43]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aberdeen	2014–15 [44]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2015–16 [45]	Scottish Premiership	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		3	0
	2016–17 [46]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2017–18 [47]	Scottish Premiership	30	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		34	2
	2018–19 [48]	Scottish Premiership	30	2	4	0	3	0	2 [c]	0	—		39	2
	2019–20 [49]	Scottish Premiership	24	1	4	0	1	0	6 [c]	0	—		35	1
	2020–21 [50]	Scottish Premiership	4	0	0	0	0	0	2 [c]	0	—		6	0
	Total		91	5	12	0	5	0	10	0	0	0	118	5
Aberdeen U20	2017–18 [47]	SPFL Development League	–		–		–		–		1 [d]	0	1	0
Ayr United (loan)	2014–15 [44]	Scottish League One	12	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	12	0
Alloa Athletic (loan)	2015–16 [45]	Scottish Championship	4	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	4	0
Ayr United (loan)	2016–17 [46]	Scottish Championship	11	1	2	0	0	0	–		1 [d]	0	14	1
Nottingham Forest	2020–21 [51]	Championship	24	1	1	0	0	0	–		—		25	1
	2021–22 [52]	Championship	45	2	3	0	0	0	–		3 [e]	0	51	2
	2022–23 [53]	Premier League	20	0	1	0	3	0	–		—		24	0
	2023–24 [54]	Premier League	5	0	1	0	0	0	–		—		6	0
	Total		94	3	6	0	3	0	–		3	0	106	3
Copenhagen (loan)	2023–24	Danish Superliga	13	0	0	0	–		2 [f]	0	–		15	0
Las Palmas	2024–25	La Liga	3	0	0	0	–		–		–		3	0
Career total			228	9	20	0	8	0	12	0	5	0	273	9

1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup
5. Appearances in Championship play-offs
6. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 15 November 2024 ^[3]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	2018	8	0
	2019	6	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	6	0
	2022	5	1
	2023	4	0
	2024	7	0
Total		40	1

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Scott McKenna

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 June 2022	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Armenia	2–0	2–0	2022–23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Nottingham Forest

• EFL Championship play-offs: 2022 ^[55]

Individual

• Nottingham Forest Player of the Season 2021–22 ^[56]

See also

• List of Scotland national football team captains

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". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
3. Scott McKenna at the Scottish Football Association
4. Mcallion, Kevin (22 March 2016). "Aberdeen tie down starlets Danny Rogers and Scott McKenna". Daily Record. Glasgow: Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
5. "Young Dons' Debuts - Season 2015/16". www.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen F.C. 1 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
6. Davie, Scott (12 May 2016). "Aberdeen 0–1 Heart of Midlothian". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
7. "What Aberdeen 0–1 Hearts told us about each side's summer recruitment". The Scotsman. Edinburgh: Johnston Press. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
8. Wilson, Mike (11 November 2016). "Ayr United sign Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna on loan". Daily Record. Glasgow: Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
9. "McKenna extends stay at Ayr". www.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen F.C. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
10. "Aberdeen turn down Hull City's offer for Scott McKenna". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
11. "Scott McKenna-Kilmarnock Reaction". redtv.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen F.C. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
12. "Aberdeen: Scott McKenna extends Pittodrie contract 'to kick on'". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
13. McLaughlin, Chris (22 August 2018). "Scott McKenna: Aberdeen reject Celtic bid of around £3.5m". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
14. McLauchlin, Brian (31 August 2018). "Scott McKenna: Aberdeen turn down Aston Villa bid for defender". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
15. Sutherland, Jonathan (5 August 2019). "Aberdeen: Scott McKenna hands in transfer request". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
16. Couse, Stephen (16 December 2019). "Aberdeen: No offers for Sam Cosgrove & Scott McKenna, says chairman". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
17. Smith, Tyrone (3 March 2020). "Scott McKenna: Aberdeen and Scotland defender likely to miss rest of season". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
18. "Celtic's Boli Bolingoli gets three-game ban; 'Aberdeen eight' receive three-match suspended ban". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
19. "Scott McKenna: Nottingham Forest poised to sign Aberdeen defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
20. "McKenna moves to The Reds". www.nottinghamforest.co.uk. Nottingham Forest F.C. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
21. "Scott McKenna departs the Dons". www.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen F.C. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
22. "Scott McKenna: Nottingham Forest sign Aberdeen and Scotland defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
23. "Huddersfield beat Forest for first win". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
24. "Nottingham Forest 2-1 Coventry". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
25. Club, Nottingham Forest Football. "McKenna wins UK Meds Player of the Season". Nottingham Forest Football Club. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
26. "Nottingham Forest: Scott McKenna to miss remainder of Premier League season". BBC Sport. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
27. "McKenna loaned to Copenhagen". www.nottinghamforest.co.uk. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
28. Club, Nottingham Forest Football (5 June 2024). "Forest confirm retained list". Nottingham Forest Football Club. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
29. "Scott McKenna joins UD Las Palmas". UD Las Palmas. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
30. "Scott McKenna captains the Scotland U19s". afc.co.uk. Aberdeen F.C. 2 September 2014. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
31. "Motherwell 0-1 Aberdeen: Scott McKenna praised for big part in win". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
32. "Six new faces in Alex McLeish's Scotland squad for March friendlies". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
33. Dowden, Martin (23 March 2018). "Scotland 0–1 Costa Rica". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
34. Lamont, Alasdair (3 June 2018). "Mexico 1–0 Scotland: Captaincy caps fairytale season - Scott McKenna". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
35. Lamont, Alasdair (11 October 2018). "Israel 2-1 Scotland: Ten-man Scotland embarrassed by Israel". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
36. "Record-breaking goalkeeper Gordon out of Scotland's Euro 2024 squad". Reuters. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
37. "Ruthless Germany humble 10-man Scotland in Euro 2024 opener". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
38. "Scotland 1-1 Switzerland: Clarke's men keep Group A hopes alive". UEFA. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
39. "Scotland vs Hungary: Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
40. Scotland players' old schools send good luck messages, Henry Hepburn, TES (magazine), 11 June 2021
41. 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. Edinburgh: JPIMedia. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
42. then went on to become a director of McKenna group services Ian McKenna, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Players Transfer Database
43. S. McKenna, Soccerway
44. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
45. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
46. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
47. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
48. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
49. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
50. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
51. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
52. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
53. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
54. "Games played by Scott McKenna in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
55. "Forest return to Premier League after 23-year wait". 29 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022– via www.bbc.co.uk.
56. "McKenna Wins UK Meds Player of the Year". Nottingham Forest F.C. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.

External links

• Profile at the Nottingham Forest F.C. website