NOW YOU’RE TALKING
JAMES McFADDEN sat next to Lewis Morgan on the plane as Scotland started their journey to the Americas before watching him fly when they crossed the Atlantic. Now he wants the winger’s career to really take off under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic so he can play a huge part for the national team under Alex McLeish.
McFadden had a stint with Queen of the South as he brought the curtain down on his playing career and got the chance to see Morgan up close when they played St Mirren.
The 21-year-old was hitting the heights as he helped the Buddies lift the Championship and was rewarded with a move to the Hoops.
Morgan capped a dream season by winning his first caps in the recent friendlies against Peru and Mexico.
As well as impressing in training, Morgan showed real promise after coming on as a sub in both games.
Now he faces a big test trying to force his way into Celtic’s double treble-winning team but McFadden reckons he can do it.
And that will be a huge boost for McLeish ahead of the UEFA Nations League which begins at home to Albania in September.
McFadden told Record Sport: “Lewis is someone who made a mark and hopefully he can force his way into the Celtic side.
“It’s hard to say if he’ll do that because they’re a fabulous team with loads of great players. But the impact he made on the international scene was great.
“And that will give him a boost because a lot of people have questioned whether he’ll play at Celtic. Having watched him, spoken to him and seen how he carries himself, he’ll have full belief he’s going to fight for a place in that Celtic side.
“Brendan Rodgers tends to get the best out of players so hopefully Lewis will keep his place in the Scotland set-up.
“As soon as he came on against Peru he took someone out the game with his first touch then won us a free-kick.
“He was really exciting. Even in the Mexico game he took a bit of pressure off because he has pace and he’s direct.
“I wish I had half of his pace when I was playing because he’s electric. This might sound stupid but he looks like he knows what he’s doing. By that I mean sometimes with younger players