Josh Doig

Josh Thomas Doig (born 18 May 2002) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left wing-back for Serie B club Sassuolo. He has previously played for Hibernian, Queen's Park and Hellas Verona, and has represented Scotland at the under-21 level.

Early life

Josh Thomas Doig was born on 18 May 2002 in Edinburgh.

Club career

Doig first signed with Hibernian during the summer of 2019, having previously been in the youth system of their Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts. In February 2020, he signed a contract with Hibernian to run until the summer of 2023 and was loaned to League Two club Queen's Park for the rest of the 2019–20 season.

Doig was added to the Hibs first team squad ahead of the 2020–21 season, and he made his first competitive appearance for the club on 1 August 2020 in a 2–1 win against Kilmarnock. Doig played regularly for Hibs during the 2020–21 season, and in January 2021 it was reported by BBC Sport that English Premier League clubs and Celtic had expressed interest in signing him. Doig scored his first senior goal on 20 February 2021, in a 2–0 win for Hibs against Hamilton. Doig then signed a new contract with Hibs, which was due to expire in the summer of 2025. At the end of his breakthrough season with Hibs, Doig won the SFWA Young Player of the Year award.

Amid transfer speculation, Doig returned to Hibernian's squad starting in his first game back against Ross County where Hibernian won 3–0 on 9 August 2021. On 20 November 2021, Doig signed a new long-term contract at Hibernian. Hibs accepted an offer of over £3 million for Doig from Italian club Hellas Verona in July 2022.

Doig completed his move to Hellas Verona on 13 July 2022, signing a four-year contract with the Italian side. He made his Serie A debut in a 1-0 loss to Atalanta BC. Doig provided an assist on his second appearance a week later. He scored a goal on his first start for Verona, a 2–1 win against Sampdoria on 4 September. On 3 October 2022 Doig scored his second goal for Hellas Verona, a fantastic volley, later voted one of the best goals of the season in Serie A. He made 22 appearances in Serie A in the 2022-2023 season. In the 2022-2023 season, he recorded 2 goals and 4 assists. In the following 2023-2024 season, he made 12 Serie A appearances for Hellas Verona, missing 4 games through injury.

After Hellas Verona refused to allow a transfer to Marseille in France, Doig joined fellow Serie A club Sassuolo on 20 January 2024 for a fee of €6 million, plus €1 million in add-ons, with a 10% sell-on clause in favor of Verona on a future transfer. He was handed the number 43 shirt. On 28 January 2024 Doig made his debut during the 22nd Serie A Matchday against AC Monza as a leftback. Doig provided 2 assists and played his 50th Serie A match against Lazio in a 1-1 draw at the stadio Olympico.

International career

Doig was selected in a Scotland U18 squad in September 2019, and played in a 2–1 win against Paraguay. The following month, he was selected in the Scotland U19 squad.

In May 2021, after a successful individual season for Doig in which he was named the SFWA Young Player of the Year, he was selected for the Scotland under-21 squad. He was later forced to withdraw through injury.

Doig was added to the full Scotland squad for the first time in September 2022. He was selected for the full squad again in November 2023, following injuries to Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney.

Career statistics

As of match played 26 May 2024

Honours

Hibernian

• Scottish Cup runner-up: 2020–21
• Scottish League Cup runner-up: 2021–22

Individual

• SPFL Premiership Team of the Season: 2020–21
• SFWA Young Player of the Year: 2020–21
• Hibernian Young Player of the Year: 2020–21
• PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year nominee: 2021-22
• SFWA Young Player of the Year nominee: 2021-22