West Brom-linked Barney Stewart’s rapid 18-month rise in Scotland | OneFootball

West Brom-linked Barney Stewart has packed a remarkable 18 months in Scotland. The Falkirk forward’s surge has drawn interest, with Albion among the clubs linked.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, the 6ft 2in striker debuted for Falkirk in January last year, then played only sporadically in the 2025 promotion run.

A close-season metatarsal break halted him before a loan to rivals Dunfermline Athletic after recovery, a move that initially jarred both fanbases. He quickly answered with goals.

Stewart hit eight in 12 for Neil Lennon’s second-tier side, then returned to Falkirk buoyed by Scotland under-21 cameos against Gibraltar and Bulgaria in November.

He netted his first professional hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Hibernian in January. A month later he struck twice in a 5-1 defeat of Kilmarnock.

Further goals arrived against Aberdeen, St Mirren and Motherwell. His output secured the Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player of the Season award.

He finished with 10 goals and two assists from 21 Falkirk games, and 18 goals combined for Falkirk and Dunfermline last term.

Under-21 caps against Czech Republic and Portugal followed in March, and his trajectory continues upward.

London-born, he excelled most in football after sampling Gaelic football, tennis and rugby, spending two years with Queens Park Rangers.

He left at 16 to study in Scotland, where his parents are from, read Sport and Exercise Science at Heriot-Watt, and scored 85 university goals across East of Scotland and BUCS leagues.

Falkirk tied him to a new deal in January until 2028, including an option year.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com