Gauld standard will be set with a lead role at Euro 2016
Wotte’s cap challenge for Sporting kid
In two years, Ryan has to play for Scotland. At 20, you need to be in that squad
WITH a World Cup knockout phase void to fill and one of the most intriguing transfers in years to analyse, the Portuguese media has not found it difficult to crank up the excitable curiosity surrounding Ryan Gauld’s move to Sporting Lisbon.
Perhaps it would be advisable, said one observer, for Gauld to take his time to learn the language in order to be shielded from the hype and expectancy featured in the coverage of a switch from Dundee United described as a big bet placed by president Bruno de Carvalho.
The financial figures have understandably created much of the fascination. A £3million fee sent to Scotland is unusual enough for a club regarded as not being on the firmest of financial footings. The £48m release clause was a captivating revelation.
The unassuming 18-year-old has not seemed troubled by the head-spinning sums nor the attention paid to him in what he described as ‘a crazy last few days’ when arriving back at Edinburgh Airport to say a few goodbyes at United.
So, with that in mind, the coast is clear back home to add to the anticipation by speculating on the spin-offs for the Scotland national team if Gauld and Sporting form a successful alliance.
The SFA’s performance director Mark Wotte believes the time to judge the merits of Gauld’s transfer will be after two seasons — in time for Euro 2016 in France.
Enough exposure to first-team football in the Primeira Liga and sufficient improvement, he says, should put Gauld in the frame to play for Gordon Strachan’s team.
With a fair wind through a qualifying group that should hold progressive Scotland few fears, that team will hopefully reach the tournament.
Interestingly, one of Strachan’s favourite topics to raise is a list of 40 players in Europe he has compiled who can ‘beat two or three people and whack the ball in the back of the net’. Several times in recent months he has expressed a desire to unearth such a player for his team in the next two or three years. Over to you, Ryan, and your new employers.
‘If Ryan develops in the next two years or so, we hope he will be a cracking player for Scotland,’ said Wotte. ‘This transfer is going to be a massive step for him. We will only know in two years if it is to be a good step for him.
‘In two years, he has to play for the Scotland national team. You have 20-year-old boys playing for Holland and for other teams at the World Cup Finals right now so, if you are 20 or 21, you need to be in that squad.’
Wotte was so concerned when scouts from elite English and Spanish sides flocked to Tannadice to see the teenage sensation last season that he described as ‘ridiculous’ the idea of Gauld leaving for a club such as Real Madrid or Manchester United.
The Dutchman was fearful of him being lost amid the numbers of an academy structure instead of playing up to 100 first-team games in Scotland and maturing in a competitive environment.
He is troubled by many moves made by young Scots leaping to the English Premier League without first experiencing a sustained top-team grounding at home. Wotte finds the Portuguese league, and a club with a reputation for clever handling of young talent, a more acceptable switch for Gauld to make on a six-year contract.
Sporting also has a ‘B’ team playing in the second tier at a 12,000-capacity home ground.
That presents those guiding Gauld with the option of blooding him in a less pressurised environment, yet one with a testing competitive edge, allowing coach Marco Silva to assess when and how to utilise his talent.
‘You can’t expect him to be a player straight away for this season,’ explained Wotte. ‘ They have to manage him as a young boy. I’d say if he gets between 10 and 20 games under his belt in season one then he should be very happy.
‘It’s all about getting game time. You see what can happen with Matthew Kennedy (Everton) , Jack Grimmer (Fulham), Jay Fulton (Swansea). They have really only played for Under-21 teams.
‘Ryan Fraser is one who has played first team in the Championship in England with Bournemouth and you can see he has improved very well for having at least two games a month.
‘Of course, we recognise that Ryan Gauld’s development can continue well on the training pitch simply because he will be working with better players. But if, after two years, he has played five games for Sporting, then we’ve got to hope we’re not rating his move like that.’
Portuguese football has been enthralled then stung by the arrival of a ‘Baby Messi’ before. Juan Iturbe arrived at Porto from Argentina after starring in the South Amercian Under-20 Championships and, weighed down by that nickname, ensured a miserable two years that included only 10 appearances and a spell back in his homeland with River Plate.
A Serie A switch and a loan spell with Verona last season sparked a wild change in fortune and the 21-year-old winger is now on the wishlists of Juventus and Milan to the tune of £25m. Iturbe’s tale is a reminder of the tripwires in the way of achieving the right environment to nurture a talent so precocious.
‘I sent Ryan a text to say well done on a fantastic move but it’s only starting for him now,’ said Wotte. ‘It’s a big step for him. Ryan had a protective status at Dundee United. Everyone loved him. If he made a mistake, then it wasn’t a problem.
‘In Portugal, in competitive games against Porto or Benfica, that is when the pressure will be on.
‘It’s a risk. But a risk worth taking, there’s no doubt about that.’