Barney Stewart’s 18-month surge draws West Brom interest | OneFootball

Barney Stewart has packed a lot into 18 months, rising from university football to a breakout campaign capped by the Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player of the Season award.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, West Brom are among the clubs tracking the Falkirk striker, who signed a new deal in January to stay until 2028, including an option year.

He debuted for Falkirk in the Scottish Championship in January last year but featured only sparingly in their 2025 promotion. A close-season broken metatarsal halted him. After recovering he joined local rivals Dunfermline on loan, a move that irked both sets of fans, then scored eight in 12 under Neil Lennon before returning to Falkirk.

Substitute outings for Scotland under-21s against Gibraltar and Bulgaria in November boosted him. He claimed a first professional hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Hibernian in January, then hit a brace in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in February.

Further goals arrived against Aberdeen, St Mirren and Motherwell. He finished with 10 goals and two assists in 21 for Falkirk, and 18 in total across Falkirk and Dunfermline last term.

London-born, Stewart played Gaelic football, tennis and rugby alongside football. Excelling most in the latter, he spent two years with Queens Park Rangers before leaving at 16 to study in Scotland, where both parents hail from.

While at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh he struck 85 goals in East of Scotland and BUCS football. Further under-21 caps against Czech Republic and Portugal followed in March, and the six-foot two-inch striker looks set to continue his rise.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com