Alan Forrest
Scottish footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alan James Forrest (born 9 September 1996) is a Scottish footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian.[1] He began his career at Ayr United, coming through the academy and making 245 appearances for the Honest Men. He then spent two seasons with Scottish Premiership side Livingston between 2020 and 2022 before joining Hearts.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan James Forrest | ||
| Date of birth | 9 September 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ayr United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2020 | Ayr United | 197 | (48) |
| 2020–2022 | Livingston | 62 | (9) |
| 2022– | Heart of Midlothian | 106 | (12) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Scotland U21 | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 4 March 2019 | |||
He is the younger brother of Celtic and Scotland winger James Forrest;[2] their sister Lisa is also a footballer.[3][4]
Club career
Ayr United
Forrest made his debut for Ayr United in a Scottish Challenge Cup match against Queen's Park. He came off the bench to score an 89th-minute winner at Hampden Park. With this goal Forrest became Ayr's youngest ever goalscorer aged 16 years, 321 days.[2]
During the 2019–20 Scottish Championship season, Forrest was awarded the Scottish Championship Player of the Month for September after scoring five goals in three league games.[5]
Livingston
Forrest signed a pre-contract deal with Livingston on 10 April 2020, making the jump from the Scottish Championship to the Scottish Premiership.[6] Forrest made his debut for Livingston on the opening day of the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership season in a 1–0 loss against St Mirren at St Mirren Park. He scored his first goal for Livingston in a 2–2 draw against Motherwell on 12 August 2020, at Fir Park.[7]
Heart of Midlothian
On 1 June 2022, it was announced that Forrest would join Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian on a two-year deal, following the expiry of his Livingston contract on 10 June.[8][9] On 19 January 2024, he signed a two-year extension to his contract until 2026.[10]
International career
In 2016, Forrest made his debut for the Scotland under-21 team in a friendly against Slovakia.[11][12]
Career statistics
- As of 22 December 2025[13]
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ayr United | 2013–14 | Scottish League One | 27 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[a] | 1 | 34 | 9 |
| 2014–15 | 31 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 36 | 9 | ||
| 2015–16 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 39 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17 | Scottish Championship | 34 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3[b] | 1 | 45 | 9 | |
| 2017–18 | Scottish League One | 29 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | 34 | 9 | |
| 2018–19 | Scottish Championship | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2[d] | 0 | 25 | 4 | |
| 2019–20 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 32 | 10 | ||
| Total | 197 | 48 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 245 | 55 | ||
| Livingston | 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 11 |
| 2021–22 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 6 | ||
| Total | 62 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 17 | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | 2022–23 | Scottish Premiership | 35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 47 | 5 |
| 2023–24 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 41 | 5 | ||
| 2025–26 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 106 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 140 | 14 | ||
| Career total | 364 | 69 | 29 | 1 | 34 | 11 | 32 | 5 | 459 | 86 | ||
- Two appearances and one goal in the Scottish Challenge Cup; Two appearances in the Scottish Championship play-offs
- Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
- One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; One appearance in the Scottish Championship play-offs
- One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; One appearance in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
Honours
Club
Ayr United
Individual
- Scottish Championship Player of the Month: September 2019[5]
- Scottish Premiership Player of the Month: January 2024.