Jackson Irvine (born 7 March 1993, age 33) is an Australian centre midfielder from Melbourne, now with Cerezo Osaka. He came through at Celtic as a trainee, which gives his career a familiar starting point, even if most of the substance was built elsewhere.
His development needed senior football, and early loan spells helped move him beyond reserve promise. In July 2015 he left Celtic for Ross County, a sensible enough route for a midfielder who needed matches rather than a name on a squad list.
Ross County was followed by Burton Albion, Hull City and Hibernian. His 2016–17 league season at Burton remains the obvious attacking peak, with 10 goals in 42 appearances from midfield. That was the sort of return that made him more than just a runner in the middle of the park.
He later became more fully established at St Pauli before moving on to Cerezo Osaka, where he wears number 36. In 2026–27 he has made two J1 League appearances, while Australia remain part of his workload: four World Cup appearances and 14 in Asian qualifying, with three goals.
Irvine’s career has run from Celtic’s youth set-up into a solid senior path across several clubs, with his best football coming after he left Glasgow. He remains an active first-team player and international midfielder in his early thirties.
📈 Key stats and insights
