Luke Graham has expressed relief that he turned down a lucrative move to a Premier League club in England when he was a teenager as he prepared to line up for the Scotland Under-21 side in their European qualifier against Portugal at Fir Park tonight.
Dundee centre-half Graham has gained extensive experience of the senior game during hugely beneficial loan spells in the lower leagues with Lochee United, Albion Rovers, Montrose and Falkirk in the past four years.
The 21-year-old made his 100th appearance in the professional game when his Dens Park club took on their city rivals Dundee United at home in a William Hill Premiership match at Tannadice before the international break.
Many up-and-coming Scottish prospects have been lured down south by English clubs who are no longer able to sign players under the age of 18 from Europe because of Brexit in recent seasons.
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Concerns have been expressed about the impact the “Brexit brawn drain” is having on the academy system in this country – and the ability of our most promising youngsters to make the difficult transition from age-group teams into the first team at big Premier League outfits in future has also been called into question.
The defender had the chance to take the path which several of his contemporaries have gone down – but he decided to stay on Tayside and has not had cause to regret his decision.
“I really enjoyed my time at Falkirk,” he said. “I created a lot of good memories there. Coming back to Dundee, all I wanted to do was play. Thankfully, the manager given me the chance to do that so far and continue to keep going.
“Even last season I felt I could have could have played in Premiership. But I needed to go out and get minutes and that's what I did. I came into this season in a positive frame of mind and just feel a brand new player. I'm happy where I'm playing football really. I just need to keep on getting minutes and keep improving week in week out.
“I am happy I stayed at Dundee. A few years ago, I had a bit of interest from down south. But I decided to stay in Scotland. I just wanted to keep playing men's football because I felt like that was the best thing for me at the time.”
“Funnily enough, I feel like I learned the most when I was in League 2 and League 1. I was playing up against big physical players who weren’t afraid to just give you a knock. I really enjoyed that and feel like it brought me on as a player. Like I said, I was playing against men and that was the best thing for me.”
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Meanwhile, Graham has confessed that he has enjoyed working under former Scotland centre-half Steven Pressley this season despite the difficult start which the Dundee manager has had at Dens Park.
“He's been he's been brilliant with me so far,” he said. “I think he's been great with most of the boys as well. He's still trying to get all the things that wants into us. It's a new process, but all the boys are really enjoying it. But he was a really successful centre-back himself and he is giving me good advice every day in training. I am just trying to take it in.”
