Kevin McDonald (footballer, born 1988)

Kevin McDonald

McDonald lining up for Scotland U21s in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Kevin David McDonald
Date of birth	4 November 1988
Place of birth	Carnoustie, Scotland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number	11
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2005–2008	Dundee	90	(14)
2008–2011	Burnley	51	(2)
2010	→ Scunthorpe United (loan)	5	(1)
2011	→ Notts County (loan)	11	(0)
2011–2013	Sheffield United	77	(5)
2013–	Wolverhampton Wanderers	120	(8)
National team
2006	Scotland U19	1	(0)
2007–2010	Scotland U21	14	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:36, 9 March 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

Kevin David McDonald (born 4 November 1988) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Born in Carnoustie, Scotland he began his career with Dundee before moving to England to sign for Burnley, for whom he played in the Premier League. He spent two full seasons with Sheffield United before moving to his current club in August 2013.

Club Career

Dundee

McDonald was initially signed as a youngster by Dundee and worked his way into the first team. He had been the subject of a £75,000 bid from Celtic in June 2006 which was rejected by Dundee.^[1]

By May 2008, Dundee manager Alex Rae told the media that he would let McDonald leave the club if a suitable offer was received.^[2] On the same day it was revealed that Dundee had rejected an offer of £250,000 from English Championship side Burnley.^[3]

Burnley

Burnley eventually had a second offer of £500,000 accepted,^[4] and McDonald was signed on a three-year deal,^[5] scoring his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Derby County at the end of November 2008.^[6]

In Burnley's 2008–09 League Cup campaign Kevin McDonald scored both goals in a 2–0 win over Arsenal at Turf Moor. His second strike against the Gunners was particularly precise, an outside of the right foot strike from the edge of the area. This moment proved to be the peak of a promising Burnley career, little did the fans know what would happen against Man City in the 2009–10 season.

McDonald playing for Sheffield United in 2013

Out of the first team he signed for Scunthorpe United on a one-month loan in October 2010 followed by another loan to Notts County in February 2011, running until the end of the season.^[7]

Sheffield United

At the end of the 2010–11 season McDonald was released by Burnley and undertook a trial with Sheffield United leading to a one-year contract with the South Yorkshire club.^[8][9] McDonald made his debut for the Blades against Brentford on 13 August 2011.^[9] Initially used as a substitute he gradually became the focus of the teams midfield and a regular starter as the season progressed and the team contested for a promotion place. An injury during the play–off semi-final victory against Stevenage meant that McDonald missed the play-off final, which was lost on penalties to Huddersfield. Out of contract, it was initially uncertain whether he would return to the club, but following negotiations he signed a new two-year contract with Sheffield United at the end of July 2012 whilst in Malta on their pre-season tour.^[10][11]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

McDonald playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2014

On 14 August 2013 McDonald moved to fellow League One club Wolverhampton Wanderers, signing a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee (reported to be £750,000).^[12][13] After making his Wolves debut as a substitute in a 2–1 win at Bristol City on 17 August 2013,^[14] he scored his first goal two weeks later in a 3–1 win at Port Vale on 31 August.^[15]

McDonald became a regular starting player in the Wolves' side that set a new League One points record (103) as it won the division. At the conclusion of the campaign, he won both the Fans' as well as the Players' Player of the Season Awards,^[16] having been already also named in the PFA's League One Team of the Year.^[17]

At Championship level, he remained a regular member of Wolves' team, featuring in every league game as the club missed out on the play-off on goal difference. Over the summer he attracted interest from fellow Championship club Fulham, who reportedly bid for the midfielder after failing to agree a new contract at Wolves. He admitted to being aware of the interest and said "it is obviously a bit unsettling not knowing where you are going to be".^[18] He subsequently agreed a new three-year deal at Wolves that will last until summer 2018.^[19]

International career

McDonald received his first call up to the senior Scotland team when Gordon Strachan called him up for a match against Germany in August 2014.^[20] On 29 September 2015 he was called up again for games against Poland and Gibraltar.^[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 December 2015.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dundee	2005–06[22]	Scottish First Division	26	3	6	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	33	3
	2006–07[23]	Scottish First Division	30	2	1	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	33	2
	2007–08[24]	Scottish First Division	34	9	2	1	3	1	0	0	39	11
	Total		90	14	9	1	4	1	2	0	105	16
Burnley	2008–09[25]	Championship	25	1	2	0	5	2	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	33	3
	2009–10[26]	Premier League	26	1	2	0	2	0	—		30	1
	2010–11[27]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	1	—		1	1
	Total		51	2	4	0	8	3	1	0	64	5
Scunthorpe United (loan)	2010–11[27]	Championship	5	1	—		—		—		5	1
Notts County (loan)	2010–11[27]	League One	11	0	—		—		—		11	0
Sheffield United	2011–12[28]	League One	31	3	3	0	0	0	4[lower-alpha 3]	0	38	3
	2012–13[29]	League One	45	1	3	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 4]	0	51	1
	2013–14[30]	League One	1	1	—		1	0	—		2	1
	Total		77	5	6	0	2	0	6	0	91	5
Wolverhampton Wanderers	2013–14[30]	League One	41	5	1	0	—		2[lower-alpha 5]	0	44	5
	2014–15[31]	Championship	46	0	1	0	0	0	—		47	0
	2015–16[32]	Championship	22	3	0	0	1	0	—		23	3
	Total		109	8	2	0	1	0	2	0	114	8
Career total			343	30	21	1	15	4	11	0	390	35

1. Appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup
2. Appearance in Championship play-offs
3. Two appearances in Football League Trophy, two in League One play-offs
4. Appearances in League One play-offs
5. Appearances in Football League Trophy

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers

• Football League One: 2013–14^[33]

References

1. "McDonald prefers Dundee to Celtic". BBC Sport. 8 June 2006.
2. "Dundee will 'probably' lose McDonald". thecourier.co.uk.
3. "Burnley's McDonald offer rejected". BBC Sport. 29 May 2008.
4. "Burnley step up McDonald pursuit". BBC Sport. 24 June 2008.
5. "McDonald completes Burnley switch". BBC Sport. 25 June 2008.
6. "Burnley 3–0 Derby". BBC Sport. 29 November 2008.
7. "McDonald heads for Notts County". clarets-mad.co.uk. 11 February 2011.
8. "Scottish midfielder signs". Sheffield United F.C. 13 August 2011.
9. "Sheffield United V Brentford Team Line Ups confirmed". Sheffield United F.C. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
10. "Big Mac is back". Sheffield United F.C. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
11. Marshall, Alan (29 July 2012). "Former Dundee star Kevin McDonald signs new deal with Sheffield United". The Sunday Mail. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
12. "Kevin McDonald: Wolves sign midfielder from Sheffield United". BBC Sport. 14 August 2013.
13. "Kevin McDonald signs for Wolves". Express & Star. 14 August 2013.
14. "Bristol City 1–2 Wolves". BBC Sport. 17 August 2013.
15. "Port Vale 1–3 Wolves". BBC Sport. 31 August 2013.
16. "Macca at the double". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 8 May 2014.
17. "League One Team of the Year". The PFA. 27 April 2014.
18. "Kevin McDonald admits his future may be away from Wolves". Sky Sports. 6 July 2015.
19. "Wolves: Kevin McDonald signs new three-year Molineux deal". BBC Sport. 25 September 2013.
20. "Gordon Strachan calls up Callum McGregor and Craig Gordon". BBC. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
21. "Scotland: Shinnie & Rhodes called up for Euro 2016 qualifiers". BBC. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
22. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
23. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
24. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
25. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
26. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
27. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
28. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
29. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
30. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
31. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
32. "Games played by Kevin McDonald in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
33. "K. McDonald". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 27 May 2015.

External links

• Kevin McDonald career statistics at Soccerbase
• Scotland stats at Scottish FA