Barney Stewart

Barney Stewart's route to first-team football ran through a university dressing room rather than an academy. He was studying at Heriot-Watt University and playing in the East of Scotland Football League, eight tiers below the Scottish Premiership, when Falkirk spotted him and brought him in on scholarship terms before turning that into a professional contract in October 2024.

The gamble paid off quickly. Stewart made 16 league appearances as Falkirk won the Scottish Championship in 2024–25 and returned to the top flight, and a loan spell at Dunfermline Athletic sharpened him further: six goals in 11 league games. He came back for 2025–26 and marked his first Scottish Premiership appearance with a hat-trick against Hibernian, in a 4–1 win.

That run of form was recognised at the end of the season when Stewart won the SFWA Young Player of the Year award, credited to his performances across both Falkirk and Dunfermline. In June 2026, West Bromwich Albion signed him for a reported £1.3 million plus possible add-ons, a fee that set a new club-record sale for Falkirk, overtaking the £1 million Conor McGrandles fee from 2014. Stewart signed a four-year contract at his new club.

He has also stepped onto the international stage with Scotland's Under-21s, making his debut as a substitute against Gibraltar and going on to collect further caps for the age group, though he is yet to open his scoring account at that level.