# Ross Stewart (footballer, born 1996)
**Ross Cameron Stewart** (born 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker. He rose from semi-professional junior football in Ayrshire to [Sunderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunderland), Southampton, and a place in Scotland's squad for the 2026 World Cup, the country's first appearance at the tournament since 1998.[1](https://fbref.com/en/players/18986367/Ross-Stewart) • [2](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-named-in-scotland-world-cup-squad)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1996, Irvine, Scotland[1](https://fbref.com/en/players/18986367/Ross-Stewart) |
| Position | Striker; height 188 cm[3](https://fafifa.com/player/ross-cameron-stewart) |
| Sunderland | Joined January 2021; 26 goals in the 2021/22 promotion season, including the play-off final winner against Wycombe Wanderers[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart) • [5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) |
| Southampton | Signed September 2023; promotion to the Premier League in his first season despite playing only 17 minutes of the league campaign[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) |
| Scotland | Debut 8 June 2022 against Armenia; 4 caps, 63 minutes, 0 goals[6](https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/en/teams/mens-team/ross-stewart) |
| World Cup | Named in Scotland's final 26-man squad on 19 May 2026[2](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-named-in-scotland-world-cup-squad) |
| Later move | Left Southampton in June 2026 and joined Swansea City as a free agent on 6 August 2026[7](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cq56qwgdg9po) |
## Early career in Scottish football
Stewart is an Ayrshireman who spent several unsuccessful years in the professional youth systems of St Mirren, Celtic, and latterly Partick Thistle before being released.[8](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clypkxye9w2o) He restarted in the Scottish junior game, a semi-professional environment with its own governing body, playing for Ardeer Thistle and Kilwinning Rangers from 2013.[8](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clypkxye9w2o) • [9](https://naheritage.co.uk/stories/ross-stewart) He later credited the adult environment of the juniors with reviving his love of the game and his scoring form.[8](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clypkxye9w2o)
The step back into senior football came at Albion Rovers for the 2016/17 season, where he made nine appearances and scored four goals in [Scottish League One](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-league-one), also featuring in the Scottish FA Cup.[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart) A move to St Mirren followed, with a full-time contract in 2017, and he scored on his debut in the [Scottish League Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-league-cup) against Stranraer at Stair Park.[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart) • [9](https://naheritage.co.uk/stories/ross-stewart) In December 2017 he joined Alloa Athletic on loan, scoring three goals in the play-off games against [Dumbarton](https://www.edgepedia.org/dumbarton) and Raith Rovers that confirmed Alloa's place in the Scottish Championship.[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart)
At Ross County the pattern of promotion continued: the club won its place in the [Scottish Premiership](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-premiership) ahead of the 2019/20 season, and Stewart signed off after three years with 63 appearances and 15 goals in all competitions.[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart)
## Sunderland
Stewart moved to English football in January 2021, joining Sunderland, and scored against Accrington Stanley 17 minutes into his first appearance in March 2021.[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart) Sunderland supporters nicknamed him the "Loch Ness Drogba", a reference to the prolific Chelsea striker [Didier Drogba](https://www.edgepedia.org/didier-drogba).[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart)
The 2021/22 season was his peak. He started all 46 of Sunderland's league games and scored 24 goals across 46 league matches, 26 in all, in a campaign that ended at Wembley.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) • [4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart) In the League One play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers he scored Sunderland's second goal in a 2-0 win, controlling the ball on the edge of the area and reversing an angled shot through a defender's legs.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) Across his Sunderland career he recorded 70 appearances and 36 goals in the Championship and League One levels combined, form that made him one of the EFL's most sought-after strikers.[4](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart) • [10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ckg3w29qeqeo)
## Southampton and injury problems
Stewart's injury record began late. He was almost entirely injury-free until the age of 26, when a quad injury suffered in the warm-up at [Middlesbrough](https://www.edgepedia.org/middlesbrough) in August 2022, after five goals in August alone, kept him out for four months.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) On 28 January 2023, in an [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) fourth-round tie at Fulham, his [Achilles tendon](https://www.edgepedia.org/achilles-tendon) ruptured about 20 minutes in; it proved to be his last game for Sunderland.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil)
Southampton signed him on transfer deadline day, 1 September 2023, while his rehabilitation was still under way, and his debut came in November, ten weeks after signing.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) On his second Saints appearance, at [Huddersfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/huddersfield), he suffered a hamstring injury after seven minutes of play. Platelet Rich Plasma treatment failed, and he flew to Finland for an operation on [Boxing Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/boxing-day) with a four-month recovery.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) He returned for the final league game of the season and was an unused emergency option at Wembley as [Southampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/southampton) won promotion to the Premier League, having played just 17 minutes of the campaign.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil)
Setbacks kept coming. In the 2024/25 season he made his Premier League debut against Manchester United in September, scored in a Carabao Cup shootout at Everton, and then injured his right quad in the first half of his first Saints start, at Arsenal; rehabilitation was then extended by three or four months by a further Achilles problem, a different one from the first.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) In October 2025, after scoring twice in a win at Sheffield United, he was substituted after half an hour at Derby County, and manager [Will Still](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-still) said he would be out for a "substantial period" and not on the pitch before the [New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-year).[11](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-out-for-substantial-period) He returned to training in late December 2025 under head coach [Tonda Eckert](https://www.edgepedia.org/tonda-eckert).[12](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-steps-up-return)
## Scotland and the 2026 World Cup
Stewart received his first Scotland call-up in March 2022 and made his debut on 8 June 2022, coming on as a late substitute in a 2-0 Nations League win against Armenia at Hampden Park; he won a second cap three days later against the Republic of Ireland.[5](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil) • [9](https://naheritage.co.uk/stories/ross-stewart) His international record stands at 4 caps, 63 minutes, and no goals.[6](https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/en/teams/mens-team/ross-stewart)
On 19 May 2026 he was named in Scotland's final 26-man squad for the World Cup, his first international call-up in four years, after scoring 11 goals for the season, including the opener in Southampton's FA Cup quarter-final win over Arsenal and an equaliser in the play-off semi-final against Middlesbrough.[2](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-named-in-scotland-world-cup-squad) Scotland entered the tournament drawn against Haiti, Morocco, and Brazil in Group C, seeking to reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history.[2](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-named-in-scotland-world-cup-squad) Stewart said he learned of the selection by email in the changing room minutes before training, describing it as a complete shock.[13](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-world-cup-call-made-dark-days-worth-the-pain)
## Swansea City
Stewart's 33 appearances for Southampton in 2025/26 were his most in a season since 2021/22, and he managed nine goals and two assists in 27 league appearances despite missing a large part of the season with the hamstring injury.[8](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clypkxye9w2o) • [7](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cq56qwgdg9po) He left Southampton at the end of his contract in June 2026[14](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ross-stewart/transfers/spieler/447995) and signed for Swansea City as a free agent on 6 August 2026.[7](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cq56qwgdg9po)
## References
1. [Ross Stewart Stats, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/players/18986367/Ross-Stewart)
2. [Stewart named in Scotland World Cup squad, Southampton FC Official Site](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-named-in-scotland-world-cup-squad)
3. [Ross Cameron Stewart, FAFIFA](https://fafifa.com/player/ross-cameron-stewart)
4. [In Profile: Ross Stewart, Southampton FC Official Site](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/in-profile-ross-stewart)
5. [Stewart driven to repay Saints' faith after "two years of turmoil", Southampton FC Official Site](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-driven-to-repay-saints-faith-after-two-years-of-turmoil)
6. [Ross Stewart, Men's A Squad, Scottish FA](https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/en/teams/mens-team/ross-stewart)
7. [Ross Stewart: Swansea City sign Scotland striker after Southampton exit, BBC Sport](https://bbc.com.im/sport/football/articles/cq56qwgdg9po)
8. [Ross Stewart: Southampton striker's rise from Scottish juniors to World Cup, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clypkxye9w2o)
9. [Ross Stewart, North Ayrshire Heritage](https://naheritage.co.uk/stories/ross-stewart)
10. [Southampton FC opinion: Who could replace Ross Stewart?, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ckg3w29qeqeo)
11. [Stewart out for "substantial period", Southampton FC Official Site](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-out-for-substantial-period)
12. [Stewart steps up return, Southampton FC Official Site](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-steps-up-return)
13. [Stewart: World Cup call made "dark days" worth the pain, Southampton FC Official Site](https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/stewart-world-cup-call-made-dark-days-worth-the-pain)
14. [Ross Stewart transfer history, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ross-stewart/transfers/spieler/447995)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of the British Isles (modern era) › Scottish footballers › Surnames K to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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