Three Youth Players to Watch: Scottish League Two

In the first part of our investigation into which promising Scottish youth players you should be keeping an eye on this season, Matthew Muir of YFS selects their pick from the bottom of the SPFL pyramid…

Josh Grigor (Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic)

The 20-year-old defender joined the newly promoted SPFL club this summer after impressing manager Robbie Horn in a trial period.

Grigor has experience in the SPFL having been released from fellow League Two side Stenhousemuir before joining the Midlothian club on a short-term deal.

The defender came through the building blocks at Heart of Midlothian and Hamilton Academical. In addition, he also spent time on-loan in the East of Scotland Football League with Syngenta last season.

Horn has praised Grigor on his commitment and attitude, saying: “He’s come in at pre-season and looked fit, strong, comfortable on the ball and for a young player he communicates really well and is not phased by anything” and with an assist already under his belt from a 2-2 draw against Stranraer recently, the future is looking bright for the promising youngster.

Harrison Clark (Stirling Albion)

The 19-year-old midfielder from Ashington, England was signed by Livingston in the summer of 2021 and has joined Stirling Albion on-loan following successful spells with Arbroath and Kelty Hearts last season, the latter club which he helped lift the League Two title.

Clark has appeared in all competitive matches for the Binos so far this season, picking up an assist in a 2-2 draw at home to Elgin City and receiving a red card in a 2-0 defeat against Dumbarton.

Having said that, the midfielder was awarded Man of the Match for his display in a 3-0 victory over Stenhousemuir and having had a decent start to the campaign, he will be looking to further develop his skills during another successful season.

Kyle Girvan (Stranraer)

The 20-year-old defender signed for Stranraer this summer on a development fee from Kilbirnie Ladeside, where he spent two seasons. He is a product from St. Mirren’s youth academy and was part of the PFA Scotland trials at Broadwood Stadium, which was where he caught the eye of manager Jamie Hammill.

Reflecting on his time with the club ahead of their 1-0 opening league victory over Annan Athletic, he said: “I am looking forward to all the different games… hopefully we will do better this season and the team look good so far.”

Girvan looks to be a key figure in their defence this season having featured in all of the Blues matches thus far, so it will be interesting to see how he furthers his development at Stair Park.