Stuart John Findlay (born 14 September 1995) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Hearts, on loan from EFL Championship club Oxford United. He has previously represented the Scotland national team at senior level.
Club career Celtic Findlay came through the youth system at Celtic, making his first team debut in a friendly against Norwich City. He also captained Celtic at under-17 level, and featured regularly for the Development side, taking part in the UEFA Youth League and the English Premier League International Cup.
Greenock Morton (loan) In January 2014, Findlay signed for Greenock Morton on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on 1 February in a 1–1 draw against league leaders Falkirk, turning in an impressive performance. Morton spent most of the season in an unsuccessful struggle against relegation, but Findlay continued to show promise. Morton lost 2–1 away at Raith Rovers on 15 March, but Findlay's pace and positional sense restricted Raith's goalscoring chances, and his overall performance was described as showing "composure beyond his years". His spell at Morton ended on an embarrassing note however, his side losing 10–2 against Hamilton Accies in their last game of the season, with Findlay scoring an own goal.
Dumbarton (loan) On 16 January 2015, Findlay joined Scottish Championship club Dumbarton on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. He impressed immediately, and was named the club's player of the month for February. He was noted for his composure with the ball, often carrying the ball out of defence with ease. Findlay himself pointed out that "coming through at Celtic it is in their philosophy that they want to play out from the back, they want their defenders to be good on the ball." His form also saw him named in the Scotland under-21 squad for a friendly with Hungary in March. He left the club at the end of his loan deal, having made 15 appearances and twice been the recipient of the player of the month award.
Kilmarnock (loan) On 9 July 2015, it was confirmed that Findlay was going out on loan to Kilmarnock for the 2015–16 season. On 1 August 2015, Findlay made his Kilmarnock debut in a 4–0 defeat against Dundee, in which he featured for the entire 90 minutes.
