Alan Hutton

Alan Hutton (born 30 November 1984) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right back for Aston Villa. Hutton has made 50 appearances for the Scotland national football team. After starting his career with Rangers as a teenager, going on to win the league title in 2005, Hutton moved to England to join Tottenham Hotspur and later Aston Villa. He has also played on loan at Sunderland, Mallorca, Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers.

Rangers

Hutton joined Rangers on 4 September 2000. He made his debut against Partick Thistle in a Scottish Premier League match on 22 December 2002. It was his first and last appearance that season; however, he made eleven appearances during 2003–04, scoring his first goal against Dunfermline Athletic at Ibrox on 23 March 2004.

Hutton in possession at Camp Nou as Rangers visit Barcelona, 2007

He made twelve appearances during 2004–05 as the club won both the Scottish Premier League title and the Scottish League Cup. He broke his leg in February 2005 whilst playing in an SPL match against Kilmarnock, and was sidelined for eight months. The 2005–06 season proved to be difficult for Rangers domestically, and Hutton only made 23 appearances in the first team, competing with Dutchman Fernando Ricksen for the right back position.

Hutton signed a new five-year contract with Rangers in the summer of 2007. Hutton started the 2007–08 season well, earning praise from Sir Alex Ferguson. He played a part in Rangers' opening UEFA Champions League group match victories against VfB Stuttgart and Olympique Lyonnais. Hutton made a total of 94 league appearances for Rangers, scoring two league goals against Dunfermline and Hibernian. He also scored goals against Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA Cup and East Stirlingshire in the Scottish Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur

During the January transfer window in the 2007–08 season, Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur made a bid, believed to be in the £5 million region, for Hutton. He initially rejected the chance to join Spurs, and did so again when they improved their offer. The protracted transfer was finally completed on 30 January 2008, with the fee reported to be in the region of £9 million. He made his Spurs debut on 2 February in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United.

Loan to Sunderland

On 1 February 2010, Hutton signed for Sunderland on loan until the end of the season, and made his debut in the 1–1 draw with Wigan Athletic. On 24 April 2010, he was shown a red card for a clash with Jozy Altidore. Sunderland and Hutton were keen to make the move permanent, however they were unwilling to pay the fee that Spurs were demanding.

Return to Tottenham

Hutton playing for Tottenham Hotspur at the Arsenal in the North London derby, 2010

After Sunderland failed to sign Hutton on a permanent deal, he returned to Spurs, scored in the opening game of the season, and won a penalty, allowing newly signed Rafael van der Vaart to convert and score Tottenham's first goal in the match, a 3–1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He since started and played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a 2–0 Premier League defeat. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he made 26 appearances for Spurs in all competitions. The next appearance, Hutton scored again, as Tottenham Hotspur lost to Bolton Wanderers. He was Tottenham's first choice right-back for the majority of the 2010–11 season, often being preferred to Croatian international Vedran Ćorluka on the right hand side of the Spurs defence. Hutton was also an important fixture in Tottenham's 2010–11 UEFA Champions League campaign that saw them reach the quarter-finals, including being part of the team that produced a memorable 3–1 victory over European champions Internazionale. However, his season ended in April, after suffering an knee injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

However, at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kyle Walker was regularly chosen ahead of Hutton in defence following his return from a loan spell away at Villa Park. Hutton was heavily linked with a £3 million transfer to Aston Villa, the club that Walker had recently returned from. After joining Aston Villa, Hutton made accusations towards Harry Redknapp of making his life a misery by training with the youth side and that he was treated as an 'outcast' during his three years spell at Tottenham Hotspur.

Aston Villa

On 31 August 2011, Aston Villa confirmed that they had signed Hutton on a four-year contract in a deal thought to be worth £40,000 a week to Hutton, along with fellow Tottenham player Jermaine Jenas, who arrived on loan. This move reunited Hutton with Alex McLeish, one of his former managers at Rangers. Upon joining Villa, Hutton said that the club was the 'only place he wanted to go'.

Hutton made his debut for Aston Villa on 10 September in a 2–2 draw away at Everton. Hutton also took part in Villa's 2–1 defeat to local rivals West Brom, where a tackle on Shane Long injured Long's knee keeping him out for six weeks. The tackle received no punishment during the game but later sparked a retrospective debate as to the fairness of the challenge. After the match his tackle was labelled 'vicious' by West Brom manager Roy Hodgson. Hutton was defended by Villa assistant manager Peter Grant, who insisted that Hutton is not a dirty player. McLeish also came out in support of Hutton, as well as expressing sympathy for Long. Later in the season Hutton's fiery reputation continued, as he was shown a second yellow card and sent off in Villa's 2–1 defeat at home to Arsenal on 21 December.

Hutton's first season at Villa Park was disappointing, and his future at the club remained in doubt during the close season. The speculation intensified when new Villa manager Paul Lambert signed Sheffield United right-back Matthew Lowton on 6 July 2012. Ten days later, Hutton was left out of the 25-man squad chosen to represent the club on the pre-season tour of the United States. Having been left out of the first team, Hutton admitted that he found himself in a difficult situation, but said that he hoped to force himself back into first-team contention.

Loan to Nottingham Forest

Having his first team opportunities limited at Aston Villa, Hutton joined Nottingham Forest on an emergency loan, until 2 January 2013, making him available for nine matches. Upon his loan move, Chairman Omar Al Hasawi described Hutton's move to Nottingham Forest, as a "big asset". Two days later, Hutton made his debut, making a quick impact by providing assist for Billy Sharp to score the opener, as Nottingham Forest beat Wolves 2–1. Hutton established himself, playing right back in defence and played all the matches until his loan spell ended.

Loan to Mallorca

On 29 January 2013, Hutton was loaned out to Spanish side Mallorca until the end of the season. Several days after signing for Mallorca, Hutton was unveiled as a player, along with Fernando Tissone and was given the number two shirt at the club. On 3 February 2013, Hutton made his debut, playing at right-back, in a 3–0 loss against Real Sociedad. The club were relegated, but despite this, Hutton expressed a desire to stay at the club next season. On the 30 June 2013, Hutton's loan spell with Mallorca came to an end. The club then tried to sign Hutton, this time on a permanent basis. However, the move never materialised as the club could not afford a permanent deal.

Loan to Bolton

On 28 February 2014, he completed an emergency loan move to Football League Championship side Bolton Wanderers. He will spend an initial 28-day spell at the Reebok Stadium. He was on the bench for their next two games and made his Wanderers debut on 11 March 2014 in a goalless draw with Derby County at Pride Park. Bolton extended his loan deal at the club until the end of the 2013–14 season after he made a good impression in his first few games for the club.

Return to Aston Villa

Following his various loan spells, Hutton returned to Villa in 2014 and earned a surprise recall in a 3–1 pre-season friendly win over Mansfield Town on 18 July, putting in a good performance and assisting the equalising goal scored by Darren Bent, who had also returned following a massive absence from selection. Hutton's good pre-season form continued, and once the new Premier League season began he found himself as first choice right back again. On 16 September, after a strong start to the season both for Hutton personally and for Aston Villa, Hutton capped off a remarkable turnaround in his Villa career by signing a new 3-year contract at the club. He scored his first Villa goal against Leicester City on the half volley in December 2014.

Hutton (wearing No.2) playing for Scotland alongside compatriot Scott Brown and Brazil's Neymar, 2011

Hutton has been capped by the Scotland national football team as well as at under 21 and B levels.

Along with his then-Rangers teammate Charlie Adam, Hutton was called up by manager Alex McLeish to the Scotland squad for the first time on 11 May 2007 for a friendly against Austria and a Euro 2008 qualifying match against the Faroe Islands. He made his international debut against Austria on 30 May 2007, coming on as a substitute. Hutton made his competitive debut against Lithuania in September 2007. Hutton was part of the Scotland team that beat France at Parc des Princes in September 2007.

Hutton won his 50th cap in March 2016, in a 1–0 win against Czech Republic. Scotland manager Gordon Strachan said in November 2016 that Hutton had retired from international football.

Player

• Scottish Premier League: 2004–05

• Football League Cup: 2007–08

Individual

• Scotland national football team roll of honour: 2016