Anthony Ralston

Anthony Ralston (born 16 November 1998) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Scotland national team. Part of the youth system at Celtic since the age of eight, Ralston made his debut for the first team on 11 May 2016, in a 2–1 defeat against St Johnstone. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 Scottish League Cup win over Kilmarnock on 8 August 2017. He made further appearances early in the 2017–18 season, including a UEFA Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain, but then suffered a knee injury in late September. Ralston signed a long-term contract with Celtic in December 2017, with the deal due to run until the end of the 2021–22 season. On 16 March 2018, Ralston joined Dundee United on an emergency loan until the end of the 2017–18 season, a side challenging for promotion from the Championship up to the Premiership. He made his debut on 20 March, in a 3–2 loss in the league to Queen of the South. In 15 appearances, he helped United reach the semi-final play-off for promotion, scoring two goals, albeit the side lost to Livingston in the semi-final play-off. On 2 September 2019, Ralston moved to St Johnstone on a season-long loan. Upon his return from the St Johnstone loan, Ralston played in only one game for Celtic during the following season, coming in a 0–0 draw against Livingston when several squad regulars were missing due to a Covid-19 isolation issue, and when centre-half Kristoffer Ajer then loanee Jonjoe Kenny were selected at right-back ahead of him following the sale of Jeremie Frimpong, it appeared his time with the club would be coming to an end. At the start of the 2021–22 season under new manager Ange Postecoglou, Ralston signed a contract extension until May 2022 and started in both legs against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. Media outlets praised his performances in the early part of the season, following goals against Hearts and Dundee. On 2 November 2021, he signed a new long-term contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2025. On 15 December 2021, Ralston headed in a 97th-minute winner against Ross County in a 2–1 away victory for a Celtic side that had been reduced to ten men. It has been assessed as one of the most important moments of the season for Celtic as they went on to win the 2021-22 Scottish Premiership title, as the result kept them within touching distance of Rangers who were four points ahead in the table at that time. At the end of 2022, Celtic signed Canadian Alistair Johnston who quickly became the first-choice right-back, with Ralston's role becoming that of a dependable back-up. On 26 September 2023, Ralston signed a new four-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2027. Ralston was involved with several Scotland youth squads up to the under-21s. Selected for the Scotland under-20 squad in the 2017 Toulon Tournament, Ralston played as Scotland beat Brazil under-20s 1–0, which was the nations first ever win against Brazil at any level. The team went on to claim the bronze medal. It was the nations first ever medal at the competition. Selected for the under-21 squad in the 2018 Toulon Tournament. They lost to Turkey under-21s in a penalty-out and finished fourth. In November 2021 he was called up to the senior squad for the first time ahead of a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Denmark, as a replacement for the suspended Nathan Patterson. He made his international debut in the match as a late substitute for Kieran Tierney. On his second Scotland appearance he scored his first international goal during a Nations League group match against Armenia, assisted by Stuart Armstrong.