Steve Clarke deliberately left Lewis Ferguson out of his Scotland squad to help him make an impact in Serie A.
The midfielder left Aberdeen for Bologna in the summer but has already seen Sinisa Mihajlovic, the manager who signed him, sacked. Ferguson missed the first two games of the season due to a ban he incurred while at Pittodrie. Now he’s fighting for a place in Bologna’s team under new coach Thiago Motta.
Clarke could have selected him for Scotland ’s three vital Nations League games against Ukraine twice and Republic of Ireland. But instead he has told Ferguson to get settled in Italy first before returning to the national team set-up. Clarke said: “Lewis is fine, I’ve spoken to him. He went to Bologna and didn’t know he was suspended initially and missed the first couple of games. Their manager was under pressure and has now lost his job.
“I could have brought Lewis across but I’ve got Ryan Jack and Kenny McLean coming back after missing out in the summer. So I said to Lewis it’s better for him to stay around at Bologna, impress the new manager and get a place in the first team. Lewis is definitely one for the future of Scotland. I’ve no doubt he’ll be in the Bologna team soon enough.”
A player who is back on Clarke’s radar is Sheffield United in-form striker Oliver McBurnie.
The Blades frontman endured a torrid spell due to injuries, a loss of form and a court case before returning to the fold this season.
McBurnie, who has 16 caps for Scotland, has scored four in his last five games for Paul Heckingbottom’s Championship side. And Clarke hasn’t ruled out a return to the national side for the striker who was signed by United for £20million.
He said: “Oli was in my thoughts before and then had a terrible time when he didn’t score a lot of goals. He’s had a few issues on and off the pitch and suffered some bad injuries. But he’s now back playing and scoring goals again at Sheffield United. If he can keep that up and if we need Oli in the future, I know I can rely on him.”
