Paul Alexander Coutts (born 22 July 1988)[3] is a Scottish footballer who plays for Highland League club Inverurie Loco Works.

[4] Cove's chairman Keith Moorhouse said that Coutts second season at the club "was absolutely outstanding, head and shoulders the best player in the league.

He listened to the senior players and the manager but he also had confidence in his own ability As centre-half at the time, Paul played in front of me and it was a joy to just give him the ball.

"[4] Coutts then joined Peterborough United on a three-year deal in July 2008 for a nominal fee[4] after impressing with his ball control during a trial period with the club, which involved playing an hour during each of two pre-season friendlies, against a Liverpool XI and Stevenage Borough.

[5] Coutts made his professional debut for Peterborough as a substitute in a 5–4 win over Bristol Rovers,[6] and had his first start the following game against local rivals Northampton Town, a 1–1 draw.

[12] Coutts signed a deal with Preston North End in February 2010 linking up with Darren Ferguson again at the central Lancashire club.

Preston also turned down a bid from Coutts former club Peterborough United in August 2011, who had been promoted back to the Championship under Ferguson's management.

[19] Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Coutts along with 7 other players was told by the manager via SMS not to report to pre-season training as he was not in Westley's plans.

[20] Coutts had turned down a move to Peterborough United and was attracting interest from Championship clubs Derby County and Birmingham City.

[27] Coutts remained a regular in the starting eleven in the early part of the season, saying in a December interview that Derby had the capabilities to beat anyone in the league.

[30] Coutts 2013–14 pre-season was disrupted by injury and in late September, he dislocated a knee in a match against Leicester City and was expected to take at least five months to recover.

On the same day Derby County teammate Kieron Freeman also joined the Blades on a free transfer, both linking up with former manager Nigel Clough.

[32] Coutts suffered a horrible injury on 17 November 2017 during a game away at Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium when a challenge from Marvin Sordell broke his right tibia and ruled him out for the rest of the season.

[39] On 26 May 2021, Coutts agreed to join League Two club Bristol Rovers on a one-year deal from 1 July, linking up with former Fleetwood manager Joey Barton.

Coutts was sent off in the 77th minute for an off-the-ball incident with Mansfield striker Danny Johnson with the latter going on to score a 96th-minute penalty to give his side a 2–1 victory.

[46] Coutts' absence was not missed however as Rovers thrashed Scunthorpe United 7–0 to move into third place, promoted on goals scored.

[49] Having made a return to first-team action in December, a knee injury sustained in training in March 2023[50] proved worse than first feared and he was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

[57] On 13 October 2023 it was announced that former player Dean Donaldson would become the new first team head coach, with Jamie Lennox and Greg Moir supporting him.