Craig Peter Halkett (born 29 May 1995) is a Scottish footballer who plays as defender for and captains club Heart of Midlothian.
Initially a striker in his youth, Halkett joined Rangers at age fourteen before being moved to defensive roles and being loaned out to Scottish League Two clubs Clyde and Berwick Rangers. After being released by Rangers, Halkett spent several years at Livingston, making over 100 appearances, before signing a contract with Heart of Midlothian in 2019.
Club career
Rangers Raised in Kirkintilloch and a boyhood Rangers fan, Halkett joined the club as a youngster. Initially playing as a striker, he was moved into more defensive roles by youth coach Alan Kernaghan. After winning the Scottish Youth Cup in 2014, he was loaned out twice, to Clyde and Berwick Rangers, both playing in the fourth tier.
Livingston In January 2016, Halkett was informed by Rangers that there was no immediate prospect of him progressing to the first team and he left the Ibrox club without having made a senior appearance, joining then Scottish Championship side Livingston. He scored his first professional goal against Rangers in a 1–0 win for Livingston on 26 April 2016.
The Lions were relegated from the Championship at the end of his first campaign in a play-off, but Halkett became an increasingly important player for the West Lothian side, helping them to immediately return from League One in 2016–17, followed by a second consecutive promotion to the Scottish Premiership after finishing runners-up in the regular season, once more via the play-offs.
Halkett was made club captain, and was an important part of Livingston's 2018–19 season, with the team's defence gaining much praise with the relatively few number of goals conceded compared to similarly-placed teams in the league.
Hearts In April 2019, Halkett signed a pre-contract agreement with Hearts. He suffered a knee injury in October 2019, and it was announced he would be out for 10 weeks.
On 11 January 2022, Halkett signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract with Hearts, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2023–24 season.
International career Halkett represented Scotland once, at under-19 level in 2014. He received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in March 2022.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueScottish CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRangers2014–15Scottish Championship00000000002015–16Scottish Championship0000000000Total0000000000Clyde (loan)2014–15Scottish League Two100200000120Berwick Rangers2015–16Scottish League Two4000000040Livingston2015–16Scottish Championship15100002Appearances in the Championship play-offs11722016–17Scottish League One33120404Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup04312017–18Scottish Championship3572061604982018–19Scottish Premiership347105000407Total117165015112114918Heart of Midlothian2019–20Scottish Premiership2325154003372020–21Scottish Championship2700021002912021–22Scottish Premiership2824050003722022–23Scottish Premiership60000020802023–24Scottish Premiership802000001002024–25Scottish Premiership1512010101912025–26Scottish Premiership304104200356Total13791411773017117Career total2692521132815133735
Honours Rangers Academy Scottish Youth Cup: 2013–14
Livingston Scottish League One: 2016–17
Heart of Midlothian Scottish Championship: 2020–21 Scottish Cup: runner-up 2019–20
Individual PFA Scotland Team of the Year (Premiership): 2018-19, 2025–26
References
External links