Ryan Fraser (born 24 February 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Aberdeen, AFC Bournemouth and Ipswich Town. He represented the Scotland under-19 and under-21 team, and made his full international debut in June 2017.
![]() Fraser lining up for Scotland in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Ryan Fraser[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1994-02-24) 24 February 1994 (age 28)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Aberdeen, Scotland | ||
Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||
Number | 21 | ||
Youth career | |||
Aberdeen | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2010–2013 | Aberdeen | 21 | (0) |
2013–2020 | AFC Bournemouth | 183 | (20) |
2015–2016 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 18 | (4) |
2020– | Newcastle United | 53 | (2) |
National team‡ | |||
2012–2013 | Scotland U19 | 6 | (1) |
2013–2016 | Scotland U21 | 10 | (3) |
2017– | Scotland | 25 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:43, 19 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:27, 27 September 2022 (UTC) |
Fraser signed for Aberdeen in May 2010, aged 16, after leaving Kincorth Academy.[4] He made his debut for the first team against Heart of Midlothian in October 2010.[5] Fraser made a significant impression in the Aberdeen first team during the early part of the 2012–13 Scottish Premier League season, winning the Young Player of the Month award for September and October 2012.[6] Aberdeen manager Craig Brown expressed concerns at this time that opposing teams were targeting Fraser with tough tackling.[6] Fraser rejected a contract extension with Aberdeen on 7 December 2012.[7]
Fraser signed a three-year contract with League One club AFC Bournemouth on 18 January 2013.[8] Bournemouth paid Aberdeen a transfer fee of £400,000 to complete the deal.[8] During his first season, Fraser helped Bournemouth gain promotion to the Championship. After Bournemouth were promoted to the Premier League in 2015, Fraser was loaned to Championship club Ipswich Town for the 2015–16 season.[9][10]
Fraser scored his first Premier League goal on 4 December 2016, in a 4–3 win against Liverpool.[11] He entered the game as a second-half substitute, when Bournemouth trailed 2–0.[11] Fraser won a penalty kick for the first Bournemouth goal, scored the second and provided an assist for the third goal.[11]
Fraser scored both Bournemouth goals in a 2–1 win against Everton on 30 December 2017.[12] He ranked highly in the assists chart during the 2018–19 Premier League season with 14 assists and 7 goals, leading to transfer speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal.[13] No summer move materialised and Fraser admitted in January 2020 that this speculation had caused a decline in his performances during the 2019–20 season.[14] With his contract due to expire on 30 June 2020, Fraser rejected the offer of a short-term extension to play the rest of Bournemouth's matches in the 2019–20 season, which was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, as he did not want to risk injury.[15][16] Manager Eddie Howe later confirmed that Fraser would not play for the club again.[17]
On 7 September 2020, Fraser joined Newcastle United on a five-year contract.[18] He made his debut for the club on 15 September 2020, scoring the winner in a 1–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Cup.[19]
Fraser was first called up to the senior Scotland squad in March 2017.[20] He made his international debut in June 2017, appearing as a substitute in a 2–2 draw with England.[21]
In March 2019, Fraser missed a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Kazakhstan due to the Kazakhs using an artificial playing surface.[22] Scotland lost 3–0, and Fraser was criticised by former Scotland player Darren Fletcher for showing a lack of commitment to the national team.[22] Fraser said he had previously suffered two serious injuries while playing on artificial surfaces, and that the decision not to play had been agreed with both the national team and his club side Bournemouth.[22] In November 2019 he was one of three Scotland players to withdraw from the national squad due to injury.[23]
Fraser scored the goal in a 1–0 win against the Czech Republic on 14 October 2020.[24]
Primarily deployed as a winger on the left flank, Fraser is a right-footed player described by his compatriot Charlie Nicholas as an "old-fashioned type of player" and a "little pocket dynamo" for the muscular physique he has developed to "take the knocks and kicks that come his way."[25] Fraser has occasionally played in the right-back position for both club and country.[26] He had previously been utilised in a central midfield role for Newcastle, but has most recently been played by manager Eddie Howe as a winger on the right flank, in a 4-3-3 formation.[27]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Aberdeen | 2010–11 | Scottish Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2011–12 | Scottish Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
2012–13 | Scottish Premier League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
Total | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
AFC Bournemouth | 2012–13 | League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
2013–14 | Championship | 37 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4 | |
2014–15 | Championship | 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2016–17 | Premier League | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
2017–18 | Premier League | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 | |
2018–19 | Premier League | 38 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 8 | |
2019–20 | Premier League | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
Total | 183 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 208 | 24 | ||
Ipswich Town (loan) | 2015–16 | Championship | 18 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 6 |
Newcastle United | 2020–21 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 22 | 1 | |
2021–22 | Premier League | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 2 | ||
2022–23 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
Total | 53 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 3 | ||
Career total | 275 | 26 | 11 | 3 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 311 | 33 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Scotland | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
2018 | 4 | 1 | |
2019 | 5 | 0 | |
2020 | 3 | 1 | |
2021 | 8 | 2 | |
2022 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 25 | 4 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1 | 17 November 2018 | Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania | ![]() | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C |
2 | 14 October 2020 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B |
3 | 28 March 2021 | Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel | ![]() | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
4 | 31 March 2021 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | ![]() | 4–0 | 4–0 |
AFC Bournemouth
Individual
Newcastle United F.C. – current squad | |
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Scotland squad – UEFA Euro 2020 | ||
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AFC Bournemouth Player of the Year | |
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