| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 19 January 2001 | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | St Johnstone | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rangers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | Rangers | 0 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Orange County (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → St Mirren (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | St Mirren | 0 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Kelty Hearts (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | → Linfield (loan) | 34 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Linfield | 33 | (4) |
| 2024–2026 | Livingston | 69 | (0) |
| 2026- | St Johnstone | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | Northern Ireland U19 | 9 | (0) |
| 2019– | Northern Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 July 2020 | |||
Daniel Finlayson (born 19 January 2001) is a professional footballer who last played for Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone.
Finlayson came through the youth system at Rangers. In February 2020 he moved on loan to USL Championship club Orange County alongside Cammy Palmer and Matthew Shiels, as part of a partnership between Rangers and Orange County. He made his league debut for the club on 16 July 2020 against Phoenix Rising.
On 5 October 2020, Finlayson returned to Scotland to join St Mirren on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy for an undisclosed fee. St Mirren announced on 21 May 2021 that they had exercised this option and had signed Finlayson to a two-year contract. He was loaned to Kelty Hearts in October 2021.
In June 2022, Finlayson moved on loan to Linfield until the end of the 2022–23 season. It was agreed in April 2023 that the move would be made on a permanent basis.
Finlayson departed Linfield at the end of his contract, and on 13 May 2024, it was announced that Finlayson had signed for Scottish Championship side Livingston, linking up with former Linfield team-mate Matthew Clarke. During his first season with the Lions, the club successfully won promotion to the Scottish Premiership through the play-offs. Finlayson played in 38 of 40 possible games in the league, with 22 starts and 16 substitute appearances, featuring in all four play-off fixtures. Livingston also won the Challenge Cup, with Finlayson appearing from the bench during a 5-0 win in the final against Queen's Park. During the 2025-26 season Finlayson became a more regular starter and played 90 minutes in 33 of Livingston's matches.
After Livingston were relegated from the Premiership in the 2025-26 season, Finlayson left the club following the expiration of his contract and joined St Johnstone.
Finlayson signed a two-year contract with St Johnstone on 20 May 2026.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers B | 2018-19 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2019-20 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Rangers | 2020-21 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Orange County (loan) | 2020 | USL Championship | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| St Mirren (loan) | 2020-21 | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| St Mirren | 2021-22 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022-23 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| St Mirren B | 2021-22 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Kelty Hearts (loan) | 2021-22 | Scottish League Two | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Linfield (loan) | 2022-23 | NIFL Premiership | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 1 |
| Linfield | 2023-24 | NIFL Premiership | 33 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 48 | 4 | |
| Livingston | 2024-25 | Scottish Championship | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |
| 2025-26 | Scottish Premiership | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 0 | |||
| Total | 69 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 89 | 0 | |||
| St Johnstone | 2026-27 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 139 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 190 | 6 | ||
Livingston
  | This biographical article relating to Northern Irish association football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
 | This biographical article related to association football in Scotland, about a defender born in the 2000s, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |