Union to sign Scottish centerback Stuart Findlay

The Union are on the verge of announcing their first new player signing of the offseason. Centerback Stuart Findlay, a 25-year-old Scot who grew up in Celtic’s academy and now plays for Scottish club Kilmarnock, is expected to join the club soon.

He’s likely to be a backup to Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliott, at least to start the season. Standing 6-foot-2, he’ll bring a further dose of height to the Union’s back line. He’s also a left-footed centerback, which the Union haven’t had a good one of since Auston Trusty’s departure at the end of 2019. Glesnes and Elliott are both right-footed, as was Mark McKenzie.

Findlay’s move was first reported last week by the Sun tabloid newspaper in Scotland, whose track record isn’t always the most reputable. But several sources confirmed to The Inquirer that it’s right this time.

Since turning pro with Celtic in July 2015, Findlay has bounced between the Glasgow giant, Kilmarnock, and England’s Newcastle United. He spent most of his time in Newcastle with the club’s under-23 team, but he earned one senior team appearance in a 2017 FA Cup game — coincidentally with American right back DeAndre Yedlin.

Findlay also has one Scotland senior national team cap, earned in 2019 in a European Championship qualifier against lowly San Marino. He scored one of the Scots’ six goals in the game.

This season, Findlay has played 23 games for Kilmarnock, which is 10th in the Scottish Premier League out of 12. Findlay has played well enough to earn interest from other teams in Scotland and England.

His contract expires at the end of the European season, so Kilmarnock will get something for him now and the Union will have him for preseason camp.

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