McGeouch, Dylan

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Personal

Fullname: Dylan McGeouch
aka: –
Born: 15 January 1993
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 1 June 2011 (from Rangers Youth Academy)
Left: 21 August 2015 (to Hibs as part of swap deal)
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Debut: Motherwell 1-2 Celtic, SPL, 6 Nov 2011
Squad No.: 46
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 2 [complete at end of career]
International Goals: 0 [complete at end of career]

Biog

Rated as a superkid (as seems to increasingly be the case for just about any youngster who makes the bench of a first team First XI), Dylan was re-captured from TheRangers juniors having moved originally from Celtic juniors to TheRangers but Celtic got him back. He had a lot to live up to and a lot to make up for.

Dylan was given his first run-out off the bench at the 90th minute in a 2-1 away win v Motherwell. Game was already won by then, but it was a start.

Soon thereafter, he was given another chance in a match v St Mirren on 26 Nov 2011 at home. Substituted on when the score was 4-0, he took the ball in our own half just outside our own box and went on a solo run taking on all St Mirren players before scoring the goal to cap a great victory with possibly the finest debut goals in Scottish football for many a year.

That goal was to be the talk of the Celtic support, and likely something that will have riled TheRangers fans having seen them lose this talent whilst being fed by their club management about the supposed merits of the overblown John Fleck (miserably failed). It was later marked as the “Goal of the Season”, what a way to mark your debut goal & season in the senior side.

That goal meant a lot to him as he put it:

“I’ve been a Celtic supporter since I was born so to come here and score a goal like that means a lot to me. This week I’ve had a glimpse of what it’s like in the first-team, and what you mean to the fans, and it makes you desperate to do well and get more of that. But the most important thing is the football and as long as you keep doing well on the park you will do well off it too. I’m not really used to all the attention so it’s been a bit of a shock to me. Once you start believing you’ve made it, especially as a young boy, the football can slack off. It’s good to do well and have fans recognise that but you have to keep your feet on the ground. The hard work starts now.”

Misfortune struck in a friendly v Real Madrid in the US (in Aug 2012). McGeouch suffered a fractured jaw, a nasty injury putting him out of action for a little time.

Despite the injury and time out, the management were patient and gave him further opportunities. The injury hadn’t affected him heavily, but he wasn’t making the grade in the first side. Mostly used as a sub, as is the norm for a junior player, he wasn’t able to replicate that form that many felt he would. If anything, that exceptional goal v St Mirren had meant that many had set the benchmark too high for him to attain. You could see the effort but not the results which was frustrating for him.

He managed just one more goal in a 5-0 rout of Dundee, but little more to write home about.

After all that, he was well back in the queue for places, and needed a different challenge to develop his game. So for his own good he was loaned out down south and then to Hibs.

His loan moves were not proving that he had the making of a top level player. If he was to show his fortitude then it should have been a walkover in the English lower divisions. However, his time at Hibs in 2014/15 in the second tier when they finished second behind Hearts and ahead of TheRangers was more fruitful.

In what was to be an ironic twist for Dylan McGeouch, he was to leave permanently to Hibs in August 2015 as part of the deal (with Liam Henderson on loan) in exchange for Scott Allan; TheRangers had been gunning for Scott Allan with the press unashamedly backing them until Celtic stepped in. Dylan McGeouch was to move to Hibs under ex-Celt Alan Stubbs trying to win promotion in the second tier against a desperate TheRangers side.

We wished Dylan McGeouch the best, he’ll be best remembered for his debut goal, a great moment that once highlighted his potential.

Post-Celtic

At Hibs, he was a regular and helped them to promotion back to the top tier in Scotland but in 2018 left for Sunderland on a freedom of contract, but then returned up north to play for Aberdeen for two seasons in 2020-22.

At Hibs he played in a well regarded midfield trio of John McGinn (grandson of ex-Celtic chairman Jack McGinn), ex-Celt Scott Allan and himself under ex-Celt Neil Lennon as manager. John McGinn may not have gone on to reach big heights and praise down south but at Hibs he was highly feted, as The Scotsman newspaper once put it:

John McGinn was the meatball in a play-making sandwich. Scott Allan the No.10, Dylan McGeouch the deep-lying playmaker. Ask fans who was the most influential presence of that three and, despite what he has gone on to produce in England and for Scotland, McGinn wouldn’t be the unanimous answer. In fact, he may not even be the most popular answer. For many, McGeouch was the conductor pulling the strings at the base of the midfield, setting the tempo and enhancing those around him. “I was playing that sitting midfield role,” McGeouch told The Scotsman. “Usually you think, a guy who can run and tackle but we used it more as a play-maker. To get on the ball and make players ahead better, giving them the opportunity to score goals and express themselves. “If I had to put my foot in I’d do it, but more often than not we put our foot on the ball and passed it really well. The fans really took to it.” (The Scotsman) 27 July 2022
Dylan McGeouch ‘open to everything’ as ex-Hibs and Aberdeen star opens up on his search for a new club | The Scotsman

However, after leaving Aberdeen in the summer of 2022, he frustratingly was out of football for a number of months trying to find a new club. In an incredible twist of fate, just hours after finally finding a new club (Forest Green Rovers in the English third tier), he made his debut in the FA Cup and won the Man of the Match award!  His side still lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw, but he was the real winner that day. Some clubs north of the border were now likely kicking themselves for not taking him on.

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League

• 2011-12, 2012-13

Pictures

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Celts grab Dylan back

By ANDY DEVLIN

Published: 06 Dec 2010

CELTIC have pulled off a major transfer coup — by snatching wonderkid Dylan McGeouch back off Rangers.

As SunSport revealed on Saturday the Old Firm giants were involved in a bitter scrap for the Scotland youth star’s signature.

After being given the red carpet treatment by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell at the weekend, McGeouch has opted to rejoin the Hoops.

The 17-year-old left Lennoxtown for Murray Park three years ago in a swap deal which saw Gers starlet Sean Fitzharris join Celts.

But the midfielder has opted to move back across the divide after being offered a deal worth £3,000-a-week at Parkhead.

McGeouch — who rejected the offer of a new deal at Ibrox — is out of contract in May.

The player and his father were given a guided tour of Parkhead by Lawwell on Saturday and the Celtic chief executive pulled out all the stops in the pursuit of his man.

Celtic could be forced to pay out a six-figure tribunal fee for McGeouch, with Rangers furious they’ve lost one of their top talents to their bitter rivals.

SunSport understands McGeouch HAS signed a deal with Celts and the club will make an official announcement within the next 48 hours.