Conveyor belt of talent just won’t stop

Enjoy it while it lasts - because it won’t be here much longer.

Now, I could be talking about Jack Ross or I could be talking about Lewis Morgan. Regardless, the point still stands.

St Mirren have been blessed with a derth of talent in recent seasons, Stevie Mallan, John McGinn and Jason Naismith to name but a few.

But Morgan is up there with the very best.

And already it feels as though Ross is closing in on matching the considerable achievements of the more successful of recent Saints gaffers.

It is safe to say that in years to come St Mirren will look back on this period with genuine pride.

The conveyor belt of talent has never stopped, and in Morgan they have a player that is destined for the very top of the game - one that we can’t grudge a big move.

It is fair to assume that he won’t be here next season, but it is testament to the board that no matter where he ends up, Morgan will remain a St Mirren player until the end of the current campaign after the club negotiated deals with a raft of suitors that ensures he will be loaned back until the end of his contract.

Celtic and Nottingham Forest remain the two favourites to seize his signature.

A move to Celtic, to some, may be one that sees his game-time limited behind a host of players that have played on the grandest of stages.

But for those that have seen him in action, Brendan Rodgers included, you would struggle to bet against the winger one day forcing himself into the starting 11.

With regards to Forest, Morgan just needs to exchange a quick text with pal Mallan to see how difficult it is to break into a side down south.

Mallan’s woes at Barnsley have been well- documented – but they are two completely different types of players.

What Morgan has is raw pace, an attribute which could see him flung into any side.

Mallan had the twists and turns... but Morgan has that as well.

The free-kicks? He is working on that too. He may by no means be the finished article - but if he continues to go the way he is going, then it won’t be long before he is.

In the not too distant future, a Scotland side could feature McGinn, McLean, Morgan, Mallan... and a Magennis.

All St Mirren graduates. What an achievement that would be for everyone associated with the club’s youth set-up in recent years.

Not least David Longwell.