Lewis Neilson
Scottish footballer
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Lewis Neilson (born 15 May 2003) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for for Scottish Premiership club Falkirk, on loan from fellow Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian F.C. primarily as a centre back or defensive midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 May 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Dundee, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Falkirk (on loan from Heart of Midlothian) | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2020 | Dundee United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Dundee United | 15 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Falkirk (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2022– | Heart of Midlothian | 15 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Partick Thistle (loan) | 36 | (1) |
| 2024–2025 | → St Johnstone (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2025– | → Falkirk (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | Scotland U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2020 | Scotland U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2022– | Scotland U21 | 12 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:23, 21 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 February 2025 (UTC) | |||
Neilson has previously played for Dundee United, as well as on loan for Falkirk, Partick Thistle and St Johnstone.
Club career
Dundee United
Neilson joined Dundee United at the age of 10 and signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer of 2019, before extending the contract until 2022 the following March.[2] After graduating from the club's academy,[2] he made his professional debut in a 1–1 draw against St Johnstone on the opening day of the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership season.[3] Neilson was loaned to Falkirk in March 2021.[4]
Following his return from loan, Neilson sustained an ankle injury, for which he required surgery. He did not appear in the United first team again until December 2021 when he started against Hibernian.[5] Neilson departed United in June 2022 after turning down a new contract offer.[6]
Hearts
After leaving Dundee United, Neilson signed a three-year contract with Hearts.[7][8] In his first season with Hearts, he made 16 first-team appearances. But he did not feature in the final months and spent time involved with the club's B team.[9]
Partick Thistle (loan)
On 3 August 2023, Neilson joined Scottish Premiership club Partick Thistle on a season-long loan.[10]
Neilson scored the first goal of his professional career on 2 January 2024, scoring the winner for Thistle with a header from a corner, in a 3–2 home win over Queens Park.[11]
Neilson played the first half of the season as a centre back for Thistle, before moving into a defensive midfielder role for the second half of the campaign.[12]
St Johnstone (loan)
On 30 July 2024, Neilson joined Scottish Championship club St Johnstone on loan for the 2024–25 season.[13] Neilson was recalled early from his loan at St Johnstone, by his parent club Hearts on 1 January 2025.[14]
International career
Neilson has represented Scotland at under-16 and under-17 level.[15]
In September 2022, Neilson was called up to the Scotland under-21 for friendlies against Northern Ireland under-21.[16]
Career statistics
- As of 31 March 2025
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dundee United | 2020–21[17] | Scottish Premiership | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2021–22[18] | Scottish Premiership | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| Dundee United U21 | 2021–22[18] | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Falkirk (loan) | 2020–21[17] | Scottish League One | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Heart of Midlothian | 2022–23[19] | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 2023–24[20] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024–25[21] | Scottish Premiership | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Partick Thistle (loan) | 2023–24 | Scottish Championship | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| Career total | 57 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 72 | 0 | ||
- Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup, in which age-restricted teams from the Scottish Premiership clubs compete against senior clubs