 McLean warming up forNorwich City in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth McLean[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-01-08)8 January 1992 (age 33) | ||
| 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 | 234 | (9) |
| 2018 | →Aberdeen (loan) | 15 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010 | Scotland U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Scotland U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 2016– | Scotland | 50 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:01, 29 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Kenneth McLean (born 8 January 1992) is a Scottish professionalfootballer who plays as acentral midfielder orleft midfielder forEFL Championship clubNorwich City and theScotland national team.
After being released byRangers' youth team, McLean started his senior career at SPL clubSt Mirren. He went on loan toSecond Division sideArbroath for the second half of the2009–10 season, before returning to St Mirren and breaking into the first team. He moved toAberdeen in 2015. In January 2018, he joinedNorwich City but was loaned back to Aberdeen until the end of the season.
He represented Scotland at theunder-19 andunder-21 international levels before making his debut for thesenior Scotland team in 2016.
McLean was born inRutherglen and attendedCathkin High School inCambuslang.[3][4] He spent time with the youth setups of bothAberdeen andRangers as a schoolboy.[5][6] In 2008, he decided not to renew his Rangers contract and joinedSt Mirren.[7]
McLean moved on loan from St Mirren toSecond Division clubArbroath in December 2009. Arbroath signed McLean, along withKilmarnock strikerDaniel McKay, to cover for injuries.[8] On 12 December, McLean made his debut for Arbroath in a 4–3 loss toStirling Albion. Shortly after this match, Arbroath signed McLean's St Mirren teammateKyle Faulds on loan.[9] On 10 April, McLean scored his only goal for Arbroath, apenalty kick in a 4–2 loss against Stirling Albion.[10] He made a total of 23 appearances during the second half of the2009–10 season.[11] Arbroath were relegated to theThird Division at the end of the season, after losing toForfar Athletic in therelegation 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]
Eighteen-year-old McLean made his debut on 17 October 2010, coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw againstHamilton. 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 toHearts.[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 toCeltic 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 theSecond 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 the2010–11 season.[17]
Sky Sports said that during the2011–12 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 againstDundee United, where he came on as an 80th-minute substitute.[19] His first start came a week later in a 1–0 loss toMotherwell.[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 overSt Johnstone on 29 October[24] and was rewarded with the SPL Young Player of the Month award for October 2011.[25] After this, teammateGary Teale said that he thought McLean was very similar to formerRangers andScotland captainBarry 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 byEnglish Championship clubsBurnley andCrystal Palace, withCeltic 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 overDunfermline Athletic.[28] He then scored St Mirren's first goal, on 10 December, as they came from behind to secure a 2–2 draw againstAberdeen.[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]
McLean signed a three-and-a-half-year contract withAberdeen 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 aleague game againstRoss County, which Aberdeen won 4–0.[35] On 16 July 2015, McLean scored his first goal for Aberdeen in a 3–0 win away toHNK Rijeka in the second qualifying round first leg of theEuropa League.[36] McLean scored his first league goal for Aberdeen in a 1–0 win over Dundee United on the opening day of the2015–16 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 the2017–18 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 atPittodrie (including the loan back after signing for Norwich).[40]
McLean was sold in January 2018 toNorwich 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 theCanaries team to help the club gain promotion to thePremier League as winners of the2018–19 EFL Championship, with his enthusiastic title celebrations (addressing the crowd of supporters as the 'Mayor of Norwich' with a ceremonial hat and bottle offortified 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 managerDavid 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]
McLean received his first call-up forScotland under-19 squad in October 2010, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute in a 4–2 victory overNorway.[54]
In March 2011, he was called up to theunder-21 team.[55][56] Making his debut, again from the bench, as Scotland beatBelgium 1–0.[57] He was not selected for the Scotland under-21 team to play in a2013 European Under-21 Football Championship qualification match against theNetherlands on 14 November 2011.[27]St Mirren managerDanny 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 seniorScotland squad in March 2016 for afriendly match againstCzech Republic,[58] making his debut by playing 57 minutes.[59][60] He was called up again in October 2017 for a friendly match againstthe Netherlands.[61] McLean scored his first Scotland goal in March 2019 in a 2–0 away win againstSan Marino.[62]
McLean scored the winning penalties as Scotland beatIsrael[63] andSerbia inshootouts to secure qualification forUEFA Euro 2020 via playoffs.[64] McLean missed the tournament itself due to a knee ligament injury suffered in the last game of the2020–21 EFL Championship season.[65]
In June 2023, McLean scored the winning goal in aUEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match againstNorway.[66]
On 7 June 2024, McLean was named in Scotland's squad for theUEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany.[67] A week later, he appeared as a 67th minute substitute forJohn McGinn in the opening match of the tournament, where Scotland lost 5–1 to hostsGermany.[68] He went on to appear as a substitute against bothSwitzerland andHungary as Scotland finished bottom ofGroup A with one point from three matches.[69][70] He later said that his national teammates were "desperate" to improve results.[71]
On 23 March 2025, McLean won his 50th cap for Scotland in a 3–0 loss toGreece in the second leg of the2024–25 UEFA Nations League play-offs.
McLean's favoured position is as acentral midfielder, but he can also play as aleft 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]
FormerScotland international, and McLean's teammate atSt Mirren,Gary Teale has compared him toBarry 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]
| 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 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 30 | 0 | ||
| Total | 234 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 258 | 12 | ||
| Aberdeen (loan) | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 15 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 7 | |
| Career total | 511 | 48 | 36 | 6 | 24 | 5 | 20 | 3 | 591 | 62 | ||
| 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 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 2 | |
| 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 |
St Mirren
Aberdeen
Norwich City
Individual
