Sam Wardrop (born 20 October 1997) is a Scottish footballer, who last played as a defender for Ettan Fotboll club Ljungskile SK. His previous clubs include Celtic, Dundee United and Dumbarton.

Sam Wardrop
Personal information
Full name Sam Wardrop
Date of birth (1997-08-20) 20 August 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
0000–2017 Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Celtic 0 (0)
2017–2018Dumbarton (loan) 22 (1)
2018–2020 Dundee United 1 (0)
2020Dumbarton (loan) 7 (0)
2020–2021 Dumbarton 17 (0)
2021 Airdrieonians 2 (0)
2024 Ljungskile SK 6 (0)
International career
2012 Scotland U16 6 (1)
2013–2014 Scotland U17 11 (0)
2015–2016 Scotland U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:09, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

Career

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Wardrop started his career at Celtic, and captained the club's Under-20s to victory in the 2017 Scottish Youth Cup final.[1]

On 1 August 2017, Wardrop joined Scottish Championship club Dumbarton on loan, until May 2018.[2] He scored his first senior goal, the winner, against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in September 2017.[3]

Wardrop signed a two-year contract with Dundee United on 31 May 2018.[4] After suffering an injury that ruled out a potential loan return to Dumbarton in January 2019, he rejoined the club on loan in January 2020[5] playing seven times prior to the season being ended early by the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

Wardrop was then released by United in May 2020[7] and signed a permanent contract with Dumbarton.[8] He left the club after one season in June 2021[9] and subsequently signed a one-year contract with Airdrieonians[10] but left just two months into the season for personal reasons.[11]

In 2024, after documenting his return to professional football on social media, he agreed a deal with Swedish Ettan Fotboll club Ljungskile SK.[12]

International career

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Wardrop was selected for the Scotland U17 team in the UEFA under-17 Championship in 2014,[13] where the Netherlands beat them in the semi-finals.[14]

He was selected for the under-20 squad in the 2017 Toulon Tournament.[15] After a historic first ever win against Brazil, which was at any level.[16] Scotland later won the bronze medal.[17] It was the nations first ever medal at the competition.[18]

Personal life

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Wardrop attended Bearsden Academy.[19]

After leaving professional football in 2021, Sam set up his own business offering football and fitness coaching to young players alongside fellow Celtic academy graduate Aidan Nesbitt.[20] In 2023, he began documenting his return to professional football through a series of vlogs on his social media accounts,[21] including training sessions in the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Sweden where he eventually signed a contract with Ljungskile SK.

Career statistics

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As of 22:48, 13 September 2021 (UTC)
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 2016–17[22] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017–18[23] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Celtic U20 2016–17[22] 3[a] 0 3 0
Dumbarton (loan) 2017–18[23] Scottish Championship 22 1 1 0 0 0 4[b] 0 27 1
Dundee United 2018–19[24] Scottish Championship 1 0 0 0 3 0 2[b] 0 6 0
2019–20[25] Scottish Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 6 0
Dumbarton 2019–20 Scottish League One 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
2020–21 17 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 22 0
Dumbarton total 46 1 3 0 4 0 4 0 56 1
Airdrieonians 2021–22 Scottish League One 2 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 7 0
Career total 49 1 3 0 11 0 10 0 72 1
  1. ^ Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup in which age-restricted sides from the Scottish Premiership clubs compete against senior clubs
  2. ^ a b Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup

References

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  1. ^ Young, Chick (26 April 2017). "Scottish Youth Cup final: Celtic 3–0 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. ^ Galloway, Andy (1 August 2017). "Loan news: Wardrop checks in". Dumbarton FC. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Dumbarton 2–1 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Defender Sam Wardrop signs for Dundee United". Celtic FC. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Dumbarton Football Club - SIGNING NEWS: WARDROP RETURNS TO DUMBARTON". www.dumbartonfootballclub.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  6. ^ "Dumbarton Football Club - SPFL RESOLUTION APPROVED BY CLUBS IN ALL FOUR DIVISIONS". www.dumbartonfootballclub.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  7. ^ "TIME AT TANNADICE ENDS FOR EIGHT PLAYERS". Dundee United Football Club. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  8. ^ "Dumbarton Football Club - SAM WARDROP IS BACK AT DUMBARTON!". www.dumbartonfootballclub.com. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  9. ^ "Dumbarton Football Club - SAM DECIDES TO MOVE ON". www.dumbartonfootballclub.com. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  10. ^ Robertson, Euan (4 June 2021). "Former Celtic and Dundee United defender wants title win after joining Airdrie". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Defender Sam departs". airdrie. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  12. ^ "SAM WARDROP FÖRSTÄRKER LSK!". lsk (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  13. ^ "SCOTLAND U17 SQUAD". Aberdeen FC. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  14. ^ Stewart, Craig P. (19 May 2014). "Netherlands 5–0 Scotland: Positives for U-17s". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Scotland squad for Toulon announced". Scottish FA. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Scotland U20 1-0 Brazil U20: Young Scots make history". The Scotsman. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Scotland finish third at Toulon Tournament with 3-0 win". Scottish FA. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  18. ^ "JULES AND HOLSGROVE TAKE BRONZE WITH SCOTLAND IN TOULON". Reading FC. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Sporting Superstars" (PDF). Bearsden Academy. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  20. ^ Clarke, Fraser (2021-02-26). "Dumbarton's Sam Wardrop: "Injury isolation inspired me to start my own business"". Daily Record. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  21. ^ "Ex-Celtic youth captain aims for return to pro football two years after retirement". Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Games played by Sam Wardrop in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Games played by Sam Wardrop in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Games played by Sam Wardrop in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  25. ^ "Games played by Sam Wardrop in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
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