Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started his senior career with Kilmarnock. He transferred to Rangers in January 2006, and was their top goalscorer in each of his seasons at Ibrox. He is the top goalscorer in the history of the Scottish Premier League, with 167 goals in total. Boyd had a short spell in English football with Middlesbrough, during which time he was sent on loan to Nottingham Forest. He signed for Turkish club Eskişehirspor in 2011, but terminated his contract after five months and moved to the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer in January 2012. He later returned to both Kilmarnock and Rangers. Having played several games for the Scotland U21 and Scotland B teams, Boyd received his first cap for the senior Scottish national team in 2006. He scored seven goals in eighteen appearances for the senior national side over four years. Early footballing life As a youth, Boyd played in 17 matches as a full back for Rangers. He was let go, and became a striker when he joined the youth development program at Kilmarnock, ten miles from his home village, at the age of 12. Club career Kilmarnock (first spell) Boyd signed a senior contract with Kilmarnock at the age of sixteen on 25 August 1999, and made his debut for the club as a substitute on the last day of the 2000–01 season against Celtic. He was given his chance to stake a place in the team the following season with the departures of Ally McCoist (who finished his career the day of Boyd's debut) and Christophe Cocard, scoring four goals in total. Boyd started the 2002–03 season, in "impressive" form and won the SPL Young Player of the Month award for August. In total he scored 12 times in the season and won Kilmarnock's Young Player of the Year award. His form attracted the interest of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and he had a trial with the Molineux club in August 2003. Boyd scored a total of fifteen goals in the 2003–04 season. In September 2004, he equalled a Scottish Premier League record when he scored all five of Kilmarnock's goals against Dundee United. He scored 19 goals in all competitions in the 2004–05 season, and was then linked with a move