Ross Graham (footballer)

Ross James Graham (born 23 February 2001) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Scottish Premiership club Dundee United. He has also played for Elgin City, Cove Rangers and Dunfermline Athletic on loan before making his Premiership debut for Dundee United in 2022.

Ross Graham
Personal information
Full name Ross James Graham
Date of birth (2001-02-23) 23 February 2001
Place of birth Blairgowrie, Scotland
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)[1]
Position(s) Central defender
Team information
Current team
 Dundee United
Number 6
Youth career
Blairgowrie & Rattray Community
Dundee West
2012–18 Dundee United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Dundee United 12 (2)
2020 → Elgin City (loan) 8 (0)
2020–2021 → Cove Rangers (loan) 15 (0)
2021–2022 → Dunfermline Athletic (loan) 4 (0)
International career
2022 Scotland U21 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:56, 30 January 2022 (UTC)

Early life

Graham was born in Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross,[2] where he attended Newhill Primary School. He began playing football at Blairgowrie & Rattray Community F.C. From 2013 he attended St John's Roman Catholic High School in Dundee where he was part of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) Performance School Programme.[3]

Career

Club

As well as progressing through the SFA programme, Graham joined the Dundee United Academy in 2012 from Dundee West. He was initially an attacking midfielder before being converted to a central defender. After impressing for the club's under-17 team, he signed a professional contract in July 2018. Early in the 2018–19 season, he made two first team appearances as youthful United teams faced St Johnstone Colts and Alloa Athletic in the Scottish Challenge Cup.[4]

In September 2019, Graham signed a new three-year contract with Dundee United.[5] After being an unused substitute for the first team on several occasions, he joined Scottish League Two club Elgin City on loan in January 2020 for the rest of the 2019–20 season.[6] He made eight appearances for Elgin before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Graham began the 2020–21 season training with Dundee United's first team squad before going on loan again, joining League One club Cove Rangers in October for the rest of the season.[7] He made 23 appearances for Cove in all competitions. In July 2021 he signed a further three-year contract extension with Dundee United and then immediately departed on another season's loan, with Championship club Dunfermline Athletic.[8]

At Dunfermline, Graham played in the first seven matches of the season, but after only one further appearance and a change of manager at the club, his loan was cut short in January 2022.[9] Returning to Dundee United, he made his league debut for the club as a substitute against Celtic in a 1–0 Scottish Premiership defeat at Celtic Park on 29 January 2022.[10]

International

Graham played three times for the Scotland under-21 team during 2022, scoring one goal.[11]

References
  1. "Ross Graham". Dundee United F.C. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. Hart, Ross (2 July 2021). "Pars: Centre back Graham arrives". Dunfermline Press. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  3. Menzies, Johnathon (15 August 2013). "Local lads selected for football development programme". Daily Record. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  4. "Ross Graham Player Profile". Arab Archive. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  5. "Academy graduate Ross Graham extends contract". Dundee United F.C. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  6. "Ross Graham joins Elgin City on loan". Dundee United F.C. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. Skinner, Andy (16 October 2020). "Ross Graham wants to use spell on loan at Cove Rangers from Dundee United to 'learn men's game'". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  8. Woodger, Calum (1 July 2021). "Ross Graham signs new deal at Dundee United and immediately joins Dunfermline on season-long loan". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  9. Hart, Ross (4 January 2022). "McCann pens new deal as defender departs". Dunfermline Press. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. Smith, Ewan (29 January 2022). "Tam Courts hails Dundee United young guns as he rues late heartbreak at Celtic Park". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  11. Ross Graham at the Scottish Football Association
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