Cameron McGeehan

Early life and family

McGeehan was born in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, to Kevin McGeehan and Julie Allen. He is the third of four children, with two older sisters, Lilli and Gracie and a younger brother, Freddie, who plays tennis at the University of Utah. He attended Tiffin School where he played both rugby and cricket. He also excelled academically, achieving straight As at GCSE.

Youth career

Having been signed from Fulham for £80,000 aged 10, McGeehan played for Chelsea from 2005 to 2011 before being released. He then signed for Norwich City in 2011 and was the captain of the 2012–13 FA Youth Cup winning team, scoring in both legs of the final against Chelsea.

Norwich City and loans

After time in the Norwich City youth teams, McGeehan signed a one-month youth loan with Conference Premier club Luton Town on 16 January 2014. He made his debut in a 3–0 win over Nuneaton Town on 25 January 2014. After impressing the fans and manager John Still, his loan was extended until the end of the season. McGeehan scored his first goals for the club in consecutive league games; a 1–0 win at home to Aldershot Town on 5 April, followed by a 2–0 win at home to Tamworth on 8 April. He added a third goal to his tally in a 4–1 win at home to Forest Green Rovers on 21 April, after helping Luton to win promotion back to the Football League. McGeehan's performances in Luton's title run-in helped him win the Conference Premier Player of the Month award for April 2014.

McGeehan's first involvement with the Norwich squad came on 26 August 2014 when he was named as an unused substitute in a 3–1 win at home to Crawley Town in the League Cup. He signed a two-year professional contract with the club in October 2014.

On 13 January 2015, it was announced that McGeehan had joined League Two club Cambridge United on a one-month youth loan until 16 February. He made his debut for the club at home to Newport County on 17 January, scoring twice in a man-of-the-match performance. Six days after his Football League debut, McGeehan made his first appearance in the FA Cup, playing in Cambridge's fourth round fixture with footballing giants Manchester United at the Abbey Stadium. He played for 90 minutes as Cambridge pulled off a shock result, holding the team 76 places above them in the football pyramid to a 0–0 draw. McGeehan's strong start to his Cambridge career continued, and he once again found himself on the scoresheet in a 1–1 draw with Dagenham & Redbridge. McGeehan received the first red card of his professional career in a 1–0 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers in what was to be the final match of his loan spell.

On 14 February 2015, it was confirmed that McGeehan had rejoined Luton Town on loan for the remainder of the 2014–15 season, with a view to a permanent transfer. He said that playing for Norwich's under-21 team was "pretty poor in terms of competitive football" and that he had "wanted to come back [to Luton] from the moment I left". McGeehan scored his first goal since returning to Luton in a 3–2 defeat at home to Morecambe. On 6 April, McGeehan's 20th birthday, he scored a late winner in a 1–0 win away to Tranmere Rovers, to end a run of seven consecutive losses for Luton that had seen them drop out of the play-off places.

Luton Town

On 1 July 2015, McGeehan joined Luton Town permanently on a two-year contract for an undisclosed six-figure fee. It was also confirmed that Norwich would receive a "significant" sell-on fee should he be sold to another club. McGeehan scored his first goal of 2015–16 and his seventh for the club in a 2–2 draw with Oxford United on 15 August. He came on as a 60th-minute substitute in Luton's League Cup second round fixture against Stoke City, before scoring a last-minute equaliser to take the game to extra time. Luton eventually lost 8–7 on penalties, despite McGeehan netting in the penalty shoot-out. Following an international ban for rejecting a Northern Ireland U21 call-up, McGeehan came on as a 55th-minute substitute for Luke Guttridge and scored Luton's first goal in a 3–2 defeat away to Notts County. After he was dropped to the bench for the last couple of matches before John Still was sacked, McGeehan returned to the starting lineup in a 3–2 win away to Exeter City on 19 December and scored a 30th-minute penalty to increase his tally for the season to nine goals. McGeehan then scored the winning goal and his tenth of the season with a half-volley in a 1–0 win away to Wycombe Wanderers on 6 February 2016. He scored his eleventh and twelfth goals of the season respectively in consecutive wins over Hartlepool United and York City later that month. McGeehan's performances in February helped him win the Football League Young Player of the Month award, during which time he scored three goals in five matches. He was named joint winner of the Luton Town Young Player of the Season award along with Jack Marriott on 1 May, chosen by the Luton Town management team. McGeehan finished the season with 45 appearances and 14 goals.

McGeehan made his first appearance of 2016–17 in the starting lineup away to Plymouth Argyle on the opening day of the season, which finished as a 3–0 victory. His first goal of the season came in the following match, a 3–1 win at home to newly relegated Championship club Aston Villa in the EFL Cup first round. McGeehan scored two penalties against Newport County on 16 August, the second of which came in the sixth minute of stoppage time to give Luton a 2–1 home victory. He was nominated as PFA Fans' League Two Player of the Month for October, during which he scored two goals, which was eventually awarded to Ben Purrington of Plymouth Argyle. McGeehan suffered a broken leg during a 1–0 defeat away to Portsmouth on 2 January 2017 that ruled him out for the rest of the season, which he finished with 28 appearances and 11 goals.

Barnsley

On 23 June 2017, McGeehan signed a three-year contract with Championship club Barnsley for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Born and raised in England, McGeehan also qualifies to play for Northern Ireland through his grandmother. He has represented the nation at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels.

On 3 September 2015, McGeehan rejected a call-up from the Northern Ireland under-21s to face Scotland and Iceland as he was reconsidering his international future. As a result, he was suspended by the Northern Irish FA for the duration of the international break, making him unavailable for Luton's match against Cambridge United on 5 September. Then-Luton manager John Still said of McGeehan's suspension: "[he] was chosen for Northern Ireland U21s but has decided that he doesn't want to represent Northern Ireland, even though he has done before. He's had a chat with his family, because I think the Irish comes from a grandmother, and as a very confident young man, he feels that England is his country and he doesn't want to not think he can't make that step."

Career statistics

Club

Norwich City

Luton Town

Individual