Dean Campbell

Dean Graeme Campbell (born 19 March 2001) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen.

Club Career

Campbell made his first-team debut for Aberdeen as a late substitute in a league match against Celtic on 12 May 2017, aged 16 years, 1 month, 23 days. In doing so he became the youngest ever Aberdeen player, breaking a record previously held by Jack Grimmer, and also became the first player from the Scottish Football Association's performance school programme to make their senior competitive debut. Earlier the same day he sat an English exam at his school, Hazlehead Academy.

A few days prior to his debut, Campbell had been named as the club's Academy 'Player of the year' for the third year in succession.

Campbell's second league appearance came one year and one day after his first, against the same opponents Celtic; again he was introduced as a substitute, and played his part in a 1–0 win for his team (a first league victory at Celtic Park since 2004) which secured runners-up spot on the last day of the season.

On 10 September 2018 Campbell signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club until Summer 2021. He scored his first professional goal on 29 December 2018, the second in a 2–1 away win at Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

On 12 March 2019, while still 17 years old, Campbell made his first start for Aberdeen in a 2–0 Scottish Cup quarter-final replay victory against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium. On 3 April 2019, two weeks after his 18th birthday, he made his first league start for the Dons in a 3–1 Premiership win against Motherwell.

Campbell signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Aberdeen on 13 December 2019. At the end of the season it was announced that he had won the club's Young Player of the Year award for season 2019–20.