Wilson set to wow Europe in Israel Finals
Rangers’ highly-rated starlet, Rory Wilson, is one of the best young strikers in Europe, according to his Scotland Under-17s boss, Brian Mclaughlin.
The 16-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Aston Villa to work with former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard again, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City all credited with an interest.
Wilson helped Rangers win the Scottish Youth Cup against Hearts in midweek, after a season where he’s netted 40 goals for his club, and scored the goals that helped Scotland qualify for the UEFA Under-17s Finals in Israel.
They will face Portugal, Denmark and Sweden.
With the absence of Liverpool-bound kid, Ben Doak, through injury, Wilson is the youngster Scotland will pin their hopes on, and Mclaughlin is a huge fan.
He said: “Young Rory’s strike rate and the number of times he hits the target – he’s up there with the best in Europe.
“He’s young, so he can go again next year. He’ll be looking forward to this.
“They want to see where they are. All of the group realise that this is a shortterm thing because the key is what you take back from tournaments like this.”
Scotland are the only British nation to qualify for the 16-team tournament, with the first game on May 17 against the Portuguese, who beat Finland 9-1 in their last game in the Elite Round.
And Mclaughlin believes the Scots deserve a lot of credit for reaching the finals, given the resources of the likes of England, who didn’t qualify.
He said: “It’s an incredible achievement. First of all, it is an achievement just to make it to the final tournament because it is really, really difficult.
“A lot of these nations are now spending a lot of money on youth development. So for these young boys to actually get there is fantastic.
“We have the youngest squad in Europe. For that alone, it is remarkable.
“We have not had the same preparation due to Covid restrictions. So we have to maximise every minute together, and that means every training session, and every meeting.”