How World Cup is highlighting Scottish Premiership talent

July 2, 2026 No Comments

The growing appeal of Scottish Premiership talentImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Scottish Premiership trio Nicolas Raskin, Daizen Maeda and Elijah Just have acquitted themselves well at the World CupByNick McPheatBBC Sport ScotlandPublished39 minutes agoFor too long, many Scottish football fans have felt short-changed.Detecting a perceived sense of snobbery from outside, supporters have often felt their star players have been undervalued and let go too cheaply.However, amid a World Cup featuring strong Scottish Premiership representation and following a gripping title fight that attracted global attention, are there signs things are changing?Here, BBC Scotland looks at the reasons why Scottish top-flight players could be becoming more attractive propositions.Could Rangers make Ferguson marquee signing?

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Why World Cup is enhancing value

Celtic’s Maeda finishes ‘fabulous’ team goal for Japan against Sweden

More than 20 players who featured in the Premiership last season were named in squads at the World Cup this summer.

Of course, a chunk of them were representing Scotland in the United States, while others have failed to get serious game time.

However, a handful have made a mark at the finals and remain in contention as the tournament heads towards the last-16 stage.

Celtic’s Alistair Johnston has played every minute at right-back for co-hosts Canada, while club team-mate Auston Trusty has featured twice and scored for the USA.

Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin came off the bench while Belgium were two goals down to Senegal in the last 32 and helped his nation to a remarkable 3-2 comeback win.

Thelo Aasgaard, also of Rangers, has played just once for Norway but scored a delightful goal in a defeat by tournament favourites France.

Celtic duo Daizen Maeda and Benjamin Nygren suffered knockout heartache, but the former impressed again for Japan on the world stage, scoring against the latter’s Sweden in the group stage.

Evidence tells us Old Firm players are capable of making an impact at major finals, but Elijah Just’s form for New Zealand caught many by surprise.

The Motherwell attacking midfielder hammered in three goals across three matches for his nation, who suffered elimination in the group stage.

The Premiership player of the year nominee certainly made his mark, though, which has only intensified talk around his Fir Park future.

“I hope he’s busy,” stated Celtic-linked Just regarding his agent following New Zealand’s exit from the competition.

Who is in demand this summer?

‘Sensational’ – Motherwell’s Just scores World Cup double for New Zealand

Just’s agent is likely to have his hands full.

That may also apply to the representatives of his fellow World Cup-starring Premiership counterparts, with interest declared in Maeda, Raskin and Aasgaard.

Celtic are braced for bids for Maeda, while Raskin is attracting interest from Hull City and Bologna and Aasgaard been linked with a move to Atalanta.

Arne Engels was left out of Belgium’s squad, but the midfielder is set to be in demand after Celtic rejected a £25m offer from Nottingham Forest in February.

World Cup or no World Cup, Just’s club form was also always expected to attract serious attention – something that should highlight the growing respect for the Premiership market, both on the pitch and in the dugout.

The 26-year-old’s club manager last term, Jens Berthel Askou, was fast-tracked from Scotland’s top tier to a top-five European league when he moved to Ligue 1 Toulouse after a stellar season in Scotland.

Last summer, Motherwell were able to negotiate a club-record transfer of more than £4m to sell youth product Lennon Miller to Udinese.

It has been suggested the Lanarkshire club would demand a similar fee for Just, who is not the only Motherwell player garnering interest.

Hearts forward Claudio Braga beat the New Zealander to the Premiership PFA award last term, and the Tynecastle club are stated to be seeking up to £8m for their Lyon-linked star man.

Refreshing ambition as clubs dig heels in

‘What a goal. What a player!’ – Hibs sold Bowie to Hellas Verona for club record fee

It seems the days of signing Premiership talent on the cheap, in Scottish football terms, are becoming far less frequent.

In January, Hibernian sold Kieron Bowie to Hellas Verona for a club-record fee that could apparently reach £7m.

Aberdeen received similar money when Bojan Miovski joined La Liga side Girona two years ago.

Of course, this is still pocket change to many clubs within Europe’s elite, which might also explain why they are taking more notice of the Scottish game.

The success of Scotland duo Aaron Hickey and Lewis Ferguson in Italy, and further back with Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, John McGinn and others in the English Premier League, shows there is value for money, both in terms of fees and wages.

Celtic have been excellent at recouping most of those fees for more than a decade, while Rangers have had some big-money outgoings.

Brexit issues persist as English clubs continue to pursue Scottish academy talent, but it has been refreshing to see more clubs dig their heels in when it comes to getting value for their top players.

That ambition has been reflected in the other direction and should hopefully bode well for the future, with teams like Hearts and Hibs breaking their incoming transfer records in the past year, while the Gorgie club fought off competition to appoint Belgium’s coach of the year, Wouter Vrancken, as their new boss.