Stuart Armstrong

Club career Early career Armstrong played for Dyce Boys Club and the Inverness Caledonian Thistle youth team, before signing professionally with Dundee United in July 2009.

Dundee United 2010–11 Armstrong made his first team debut for Dundee United in November 2010, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Hamilton Academical. Towards the end of the season, manager Peter Houston praised Armstrong on his substitute role.

2011–12 Armstrong then scored his first goal for United in a 2–2 draw against St Mirren in December 2011. After the match, Armstrong said that "I got a deflected goal in Inverness last month but my first proper strike came against St Mirren in the 2–2 draw last week and that has filled me with confidence".

2012–13

After making six appearances this season, Armstrong agreed a three-year contract with Dundee United in September 2012. Armstrong then signed another new contract with United in October 2012. Armstrong scored his first goal of the season on 24 November, in a 2–1 win over Ross County. Having made six appearances in February, Armstrong was awarded Clydesdale Bank Premier League Young Player of the Month. Armstrong was nominated for SPFA young player of the year, but it was awarded to Hibernian's Leigh Griffiths instead. He did, however, go on to win the SFWA Young Player of the Year award.

2013–14 Armstrong and Dundee United began negotiations over a new contract, and on 12 December, he signed a one-year contract extension. Armstrong expressed an ambition to play in England in the future, but said he was happy to wait until he had established himself in the United first team. This was later dismissed as "speculation" by Celtic manager Neil Lennon. In April 2014, he was nominated for the 2013–14 PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award. He was also selected to the 2013–14 Premiership PFA Scotland Team of the Year.

2014–15 His last match for Dundee United came in a New Firm derby defeat of Aberdeen in a 2014–15 Scottish League Cup semi-final on 31 January 2015. Armstrong made 150 appearances, starting 109 matches, and scored 22 goals in all competitions for Dundee United before joining Celtic.

Celtic 2014–15 In January 2015, Dundee United turned down two transfer offers from Celtic for Armstrong, however the transfer was completed on 2 February 2015, alongside fellow Dundee United player Gary Mackay-Steven. Armstrong denied requesting the transfer. Both players would be ineligible for the remaining Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup ties as Celtic chased a domestic treble.

Armstrong scored on his Celtic debut in a 3–0 league victory at Partick Thistle on 11 February 2015. He gave Celtic a 2–0 lead after fellow debutant Gary Mackay-Steven opened the scoring.

2015–16 Armstrong made his first appearance of the 2015–16 season in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg tie against Stjarnan, assisting the second goal in a 2–0 home win. He scored his first goals of the season with a second-half brace, in a 4–2 league win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 15 August.

2016–17 Armstrong scored 17 goals in all competitions as Celtic won a domestic treble.

2017–18 Celtic won a second successive domestic treble in 2017–18, but Armstrong's season was interrupted by injuries. He said he wanted to "hit the ground running" at the club. On 12 August 2018, Armstrong made his debut in a 0–0 draw against Burnley in the Premier League. In November 2018, he stated that he did not miss Scottish football. On 24 November 2018, Armstrong scored his first two goals for Southampton in a 3–2 defeat against Fulham in the league.

2019–20 On 17 August 2019, Armstrong made his first league appearance of the season in a 1–2 defeat to Liverpool, replacing Ché Adams in the second half. On 2 November 2019, Armstrong made his first league start of the season in a 2–1 defeat to Manchester City. On 11 January 2020, Armstrong scored his first goal of the season in Southampton's 1–2 victory against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

On 13 March 2020, the Premier League was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that Armstrong and Southampton would not play again until 19 June 2020, where Armstrong scored in a 0–3 victory against Norwich at Carrow Road.

2020–21 It was announced on 1 January 2021 that Armstrong had signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Southampton, which will run to the summer of 2024.

2021–22 On 5 February 2022, Armstrong scored in a 2–1 victory against Coventry City in the FA Cup which was voted as goal of the fourth round. His first league goal of the season came on 19 February 2022 in a 2–0 victory against Everton.

2022–23 On 23 October 2022, Armstrong scored his first goal of the season in a 1–1 draw with Arsenal. His only other goal of the 2022–23 season came on 30 April 2023 in a 3–1 defeat to Newcastle United.

2023–24 Armstrong made his first appearance of the season on 4 August 2023 in a 1–2 victory against Sheffield Wednesday. On 3 October 2023, he scored his first goal of the campaign in a 0–1 victory against Stoke City. During a 2–1 defeat to Cardiff City on 20 April 2024, he suffered an injury and was expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season. Armstrong was released by Southampton at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Vancouver Whitecaps On 3 September 2024, Armstrong joined MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps on a two-year contract. He made his Whitecaps debut in a 0–0 draw with FC Dallas on 7 September, and scored his first goal a week later in a 2–0 victory against San Jose Earthquakes.

Sheffield Wednesday On 31 January 2025, Armstrong returned to England, joining Sheffield Wednesday. He made his debut the following day, coming off the bench against Luton Town. He was released from his contract following the end of the 2024–25 season.

Aberdeen On 2 September 2025, Armstrong returned to Scotland, joining Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen on a 2 year deal.

International career Armstrong represented Scotland at under-19 and under-21 levels. On 21 May 2013, Armstrong was called up for the senior team, along with his Dundee United teammate Gary Mackay-Steven. He was called up again by the national team in August 2015, and again in March 2017. Armstrong made his full international debut on 26 March 2017, in a 1–0 win against Slovenia. National team manager Gordon Strachan called it "the best Scotland debut I have ever seen." In September 2017 he was ruled out of two 2018 World Cup qualifying games through injury.

In October 2020 he pulled out of the Scotland squad for a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-off semi-final against Israel after testing positive for COVID-19.

In May 2021, he was selected in the Scotland squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. He played in all three of the team's Group D matches, starting against both Czechia and Croatia at Hampden Park and appearing as a substitute against England at Wembley Stadium.

On 26 March 2024, Armstrong won his 50th cap for Scotland in a 1–0 friendly loss to Northern Ireland.

On 7 June 2024, Armstrong was named in Scotland's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany. He made one appearance at the tournament, coming on as a 76th minute substitute for John McGinn against Hungary as Scotland finished bottom of Group A with one point from three matches.

Personal life In 2014, Armstrong was studying for a law degree through the Open University in his spare time.

Career statistics Club

International

Scotland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Armstrong goal.

Honours Celtic Scottish Premiership: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 Scottish Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18 Scottish League Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18

Vancouver Whitecaps Canadian Championship: 2024

Individual Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: February 2013