Sporting Gauld For Talented Scottish Youngester
According to the Evening Telegraph, Dundee United have accepted a bid of £3m from Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon for young Scottish star Ryan Gauld.
For me, this deal would make a lot of sense for all those involved.
I’ve been banging on for a few years now, that instead of leaving Scotland for the English Premiership (EPL), younger Scottish players should look to moving to the continent. Only a few weeks ago I was saying how much better Paul Lambert and John Collins were after their moves to Dortmund and Monaco. The same goes for Allan Johnston and Derek McInnes who had spells in France.
These days players see the golden road to the EPL as the only one to go down as a way to get to the top. But once they get there they get lost in a trawler of talent that migrates towards the English top flight. The players careers then stall or go back the way. Look at David Goodwillie, his £2m move to Blackburn went badly and now he’s available for a free and could be back in Scotland a duller talent.
At Chelsea, Scottish youth Islam Feruz is doing well with the clubs reserves but he is nowhere near the first team and there are no guarantees that he’ll ever make it at Stamford Bridge.
It’s also about picking the right club, going too far east can cause problems with culture and dodgy owners who fail to pay.
But with Sporting Lisbon, Ryan would be going to a club that are known for developing talent and then shipping them on to bigger clubs. Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Luis Figo spent their early years at the Estádio José Alvalade. Current talented midfielder William Carvalho is a twenty-two year old who is attracting great interest from major clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea.
In Portugal, Ryan would learn so much more about football. In terms of technique, tactics and footballing lifestyle like diets and physio. He will also get a glimpse of European football, at the highest level with Sporting finishing second in Primeira Liga last term.
The competition in Portugal will also improve Gauld as a player. Obviously in Scotland we all know Celtic will win. But in Portugal it opens up with Sporting usually chasing or competing with Benfica and Porto for the top spots. The competition to get into the first-team would also be a huge thing for Ryan Gauld as their will be a lot of talented player vying with him for a place. At Dundee United, he’s been well managed by Jackie McNamara but at the same time he was the hot prospect and a lot was expected of him. Maybe a loan to a smaller Portuguese side can help him settle in to life away from home quicker and get him more first team football.
Sporting Lisbon would be getting a good young player with bundles of potential. We’ve had comparisons with Lionel Messi but I’d look at the World Cup’s top star so far, James Rodriguez as a player that could be seen as one that Gauld could try and emulate. They both like finding pockets of space, seeing plenty of the ball and making superb cutting passes that take defenders out of the game. Both can play on each wing or in the middle behind a striker. Plus both aren’t scared of taking the set-pieces. Ryan also uses both feet, can dribble and use a bit of skill to get himself away from a marker. Oh and lets not forget that one James Rodriguez also spent a few seasons in Portugal.
A finished article?
No. But if guided the right way, he has the potential to become a top European performer. At a £3m fee, Sporting Lisbon could see a huge profit within a few years too!
For Dundee United it would be great to get that £3m in the bank for a young eighteen year old starlet, who probably does need this move to enhance his development. I’d hope they’d also stick in a selling on clause into the deal.
So hopefully Ryan Gauld can leave and become a success on the continent and prove to other Scottish players it’s the way to go.
Posted on July 1st, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article
Too many talkers and theorists in Scottish football . Boring
Cheers.