Scotland Men's Football Team

Liverpool are willing to offer 19-year-old Scotland winger Ben Doak as part of a deal for Crystal Palace's 24-year-old England defender, Marc Guehi. (Sun), external

Lawrence Shankland has interest from clubs in England and Saudi Arabia, but Heart of Midlothian retain a line of communication with the out-of-contract Scotland striker while determined not to increase their offer, which would make the 29-year-old their highest-paid player. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Former Celtic and Scotland striker Leigh Griffiths has signed for semi-professional Stirling Macedonia Lions in the second-tier National Premier Leagues Western Australia after the 34-year-old ended three years with third tier Mandurah City. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher is in talks to take over as the club's Under-18 coach.

Previous U18s coach Adam Lawrence left United at the end of the season, part of a major summer upheaval at youth level that also includes academy chief Nick Cox taking a job at Everton as technical director.

United feel former Scotland international Fletcher, 41, will provide continuity as the search for Cox's successor continues.

Fletcher initially returned to Old Trafford in a non-playing role during Ed Woodward's time as chief executive.

He was appointed as technical director in 2021 but moved roles following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival as minority shareholder, when Jason Wilcox took the job after leaving Southampton.

He was a first-team coach under Erik ten Hag and, in more recent times, has been a link between the first-team and academy and travelled to Malaysia and Hong Kong at the end of the season, when a number of young players were selected.

Fletcher has long-term management ambitions of his own and this would be a positive first step.

He has previously been reluctant to take on an academy role as his twin sons Tyler and Jack were both excelling as players.

However, they have now moved out of the Under-18 age group, which leaves Fletcher to take the job if he wants.

It is understood he will work closely with Travis Binnion, United's Under-21 lead coach.

Max Johnston could join fellow Scotland internationals Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour at Napoli, with the Serie A champions "observing" the Strum Graz right-back. (Transfermarkt), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Ross Doohan has backed himself to get enough game time at Celtic to become "a mainstay" in the Scotland squad.

After being handed a surprise international debut against Liechtenstein earlier this month amid a goalkeeping crisis within Steve Clarke's squad, the 27-year-old sealed a return to his boyhood club on a three-year deal last week.

Doohan, who spent most of the past two seasons as number two at Aberdeen after leaving Parkhead to join Tranmere in 2022, is expected to start off as third choice at Celtic behind Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo.

"It's obviously going to be difficult," he said when asked about the battle to get game time with the Scottish champions. "There are two top goalkeepers at the club already and I'm buzzing to be working with them.

"I'm just looking to work as hard as I can and put my face out there. I'm hoping to push myself into the team. I know it'll be hard, but I back myself."

Doohan said he had enjoyed "a surreal couple of weeks" after landing his return to Celtic so soon after his unexpected international debut.

The keeper, who cut a summer holiday short to join up with Clarke's Scotland squad, is confident his big move can aid his quest to add to his solitary cap.

"If I get a call-up again I'm hoping I'd impress and hopefully end up a mainstay in the squad," Doohan added.

"Obviously I'm moving to one of the biggest clubs in the world and the biggest club in Scotland, so that's always going to put you in good stead.

"I just need to push myself at Celtic, hopefully get some game time and then take it from there."

Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Everton are keeping tabs on Ben Doak with the 19-year-old Scotland winger having returned to training following injury, but none have been prepared to meet Liverpool's £25m valuation. (Mail), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

Kevin Nisbet, who was on loan to Aberdeen from Millwall last season, is not a target for Heart of Midlothian, with head coach Derek McInnes hopeful of convincing fellow Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland to stay at Tynecastle Park. (Hearts Standard), external

Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal made an enquiry for Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay, but the Italian champions did not even discuss a deal as they have no intention of selling the 28-year-old Scotland international. (Football Italia), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

Celtic are set to step up their efforts to sign Scotland midfielder Andy Irving, with West Ham United prepared to sell the 25-year-old. (Football Insider), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Scotland's World Cup qualifier away to Belarus on 8 September will be played behind closed doors in Hungary.

The match will take place at the ZTE Arena in Zalaegerszeg.

Recent competitive Belarus home games, including fixtures in the most recent edition of the Nations League, have been played at ZTE Arena without supporters because of the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Ukraine.

Belarus v Scotland will take place three days after the Scots open their Group C campaign away to Denmark and Steve Clarke's side will also face Greece during the autumn.

Scotland centre-half Ryan Porteous is keen on exploring a permanent exit from Watford and the 26-year-old could head for Major League Soccer this summer but also has suitors both in the Championship and Scotland. (Mirror), external

Real Madrid were the first club to be approached by Andy Robertson's agent but rejected the opportunity to make an approach to Liverpool for the 31-year-old Scotland captain. (Defensa Central), external

Atletico Madrid are also considering Aston Villa's Lucas Digne as an option at left-back if they fail to secure Robertson, with the Spanish club only wanting to pay a small fee or get the left-back on a free transfer. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Celtic would consider a move for Robertson, who would be interested in joining his boyhood club, but only if he becomes available for free or at a nominal fee covering the remainder of his contract, as matching his current wages or paying a significant transfer fee is beyond the Scottish champions' reach. (TeamTalk), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Atletico Madrid hope Liverpool will allow Andy Robertson to leave for free or a small fee as the long-serving 31-year-old Scotland captain wishes to leave the English champions. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Atletico are prepared to pay around £20m for Robertson and have opened talks with Liverpool, who will not stand in the way of the left-back. (The Boot Room), external

League One champions Birmingham City are looking to outbid Championship rivals Hull City and Swansea City in the race for 29-year-old Scotland striker Oli McBurnie, currently with Las Palmas. (Alan Nixon on Patreon), external

Promoted Wrexham are considering deals for former Scotland midfielders Stuart Armstrong, 33, and Barry Bannan, 35, who have both left Sheffield Wednesday. (Sun), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

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Andy Robertson should "take the opportunity" to move to Atletico Madrid, according to former Scotland keeper Cammy Bell.

The Liverpool left-back has been linked with a move to the Spanish capital as the Reds appear to close in on Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez.

"If he isn't going to play as much football next season, I hope the opportunity is there and he takes it," Bell told Sportsound.

"The level is very competitive. The Spanish league is a brilliant league to play in and Andy Robertson is still in his prime.

"He's still got a lot to give, he said that himself. He's far too good a player not to play."

Speaking after the Liechtenstein victory in Vaduz, the Scotland captain confirmed that he wasn't entirely sure where his future lies.

"I've got loads more to achieve," he told BBC Scotland. "I'm 31, didn't miss a game this season or a training session. That's something I'm happy with, after last season with my shoulder and ankle injury.

"This season I've been available for every single game. I've got a year left at Liverpool and I don't know what the future will hold after that. I still believe I've got a lot to give. I've shown that in performances this season."

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"The only good thing is it came in a friendly match."

Those were the words of head coach Steve Clarke when he talked about Cieran Slicker's nightmare debut for Scotland, as the 22-year-old made a few costly errors in the recent loss to Iceland.

He may have been talking about the mistakes, but he could also have been referring to the dazzling spotlight on the goalkeeping crisis in the country.

"What we've had for years is three top-quality goalkeepers," former Scotland keeper Cammy Bell told Sportsound. "Elite level in [David] Marshall, [Allan] McGregor and Craig Gordon.

"We've been spoiled in that department. If one was injured, we had another who could step in at the exact same level.

"Now, we've got a massive drop-off."

There is some debate around who Clarke's first-choice would be if all options were fit. Would it be Hearts' legendary shot-stopper Gordon, or the currently unattached Gunn?

"Craig Gordon, for me, is 100% the number one for Scotland at this moment in time," Bell added. "He's 42 years-old and he will be retiring soon. Where do we go after that?

"Angus Gunn is the one that Scotland fans are unsure about. He's done okay when he's played but he's had a few injures. When he gets injured, where do we go?"

Clarke took Zander Clark and Liam Kelly to the Euros last summer ahead of Gordon, who has now ambitiously aimed for the 2026 World Cup next summer, should Scotland qualify. But what about after that?

"It's difficult," Bell said. "Zander Clark isn't playing at Hearts at the moment, he's 32-years-old. Robby McCrorie couldn't hold down the number one spot at Kilmarnock. He's not played a lot of football.

"Liam Kelly got a few games towards the end of the season, but looks as if he's probably number two at Rangers and won't play a lot of football.

"Ross Doohan came in, did a good job. Made his debut, kept a clean sheet. Looks as if he's going to join Celtic as a number two, possibly a number three.

"Scott Bain might come back into the frame because he's joined Falkirk to get some more football. But he's 33, not that young either.

"There is huge question marks. There's no getting away from it. We have a massive issue in the goalkeeping department."

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"Happy endings don't happen often in football, but it'd be ideal."

As Craig Gordon prepares for his 24th season in football, it's understandable he's also thinking about how his illustrious chapter in the game ends.

The 42-year-old goalkeeper recently signed a new one-year deal with Hearts and started between the sticks for Scotland in March, but even the man who's defied all odds with his longevity in the game knows the end is nigh.

That doesn't mean his outlook or attitude has changed, though.

He's still as driven as the young man who first stepped into Hearts in 1999 and as determined as the chap who battled back from multiple career-ending injuries.

"Trying to be the best I can be is how I got here and it's the only way to stay here," Gordon said, previewing his testimonial next month against Sunderland.

"Regardless of age and what I have to do to get to that level, that's the process and that's what I stick to trying to do.

"No matter what I'm doing, whether it's in training, in games, whether I'm reflecting on the performances, analysing, it's to be the best that I can possibly be.

"Trying to improve, I still think that's possible even at this age. You still have to try and improve things that you can improve and that's what keeps me going."

The prospect of reaching a World Cup does too.

Scotland begin their qualifying campaign in September, and if fit, Gordon would be expected to be in the mix, particularly given the recent struggles Steve Clarke has had in that position.

"[Appearing at a World Cup] would be ideal, but there's an awful lot of football to be played," he added.

"Happy endings don't happen often in football, so that's something to work towards, something to give everything that I've possibly got to try and achieve and then we'll see where it takes us."

Scotland left-back Andy Robertson says he has held discussions with Liverpool over his future, but the 31-year-old, who has a year left of his contract, is still unclear on what the outcome of those contract talks will be. (Sky Sports), external

Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell says contract talks with head coach Steve Clarke are on hold until after Scotland's attempt to qualify for the next World Cup. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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Captain Andy Robertson insists Scotland can "give anyone a game" and is "still optimistic" of reaching next summer's World Cup despite a string of disappointing results.

The Scots were scudded 3-1 by Iceland in Friday's friendly at Hampden, after suffering a dismal 3-0 defeat to Greece in their Nations League play-off in March.

However, the Liverpool left-back is adamant if Steve Clarke's side "get back to basics" they can mount a challenge when qualifying begins in September.

"Friday was a huge disappointment, a game that we tried to go into to build momentum going into the World Cup qualifiers, it did the complete opposite," Roberston told Sky Sports., external

"I'm still optimistic, I'm still looking forward to the future, Friday was a bit of a blow but we know the last year or so hasn't been up to scratch.

"I still believe in the squad that we've got and I do believe that we can cause any teams problems as long as we get back to the basics we're good at.

"We can look at it two ways. First of all, we're thankful that it wasn't in a qualifier. If you're going to put in a performance like that and make the mistakes that we made, better off doing it in a friendly than a competitive match, that's the only positive we could have took from Friday.

"We can't afford that, we know how hard it is to qualify for a World Cup. The last time we tried it we had a pretty perfect campaign, only finishing a couple of points behind Denmark. We then go into the play-offs and we know how hard games in the play-offs are.

"We're in a four team group, it's more of a sprint, there's only six games and it's a real tough group.

"We've shown that at the highest level, we've drawn against Portugal, beaten Croatia, beaten Spain - I know that feels like a long time ago - we have competed against teams when we do that right and that's what we're going to need to do for all six games to give ourselves a chance."

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Andy Irving says "you couldn't really write" his Scotland debut as he made it at the same time as his childhood friend, Josh Doig.

The pair came off the bench as second-half substitutes in Scotland's final game of the season in Liechtenstein.

West Ham's Irving and Sassuolo's Doig both attended Newcraighall Primary School and then Portobello High School in Edinburgh and were on the books of Hearts before Doig ended up as a city rival with Hibernian.

"I loved it. Just over the moon, to be honest, to make my Scotland debut and get my first cap," the midfielder said. £I'm just absolutely delighted.

"It's just amazing. It's something that you dream of as a kid, playing for your country.

"Having played throughout the youth groups, I know how proud that made me feel. To make it for the national team, I'm just delighted.

"Coming on with Doigy was perfect. Literally, mad, just mad.

"Our dads are really good mates. They played at Edinburgh City together and stuff like that.

"I'm two years older but we used to play when we were kids at primary school and whatnot. Growing up, he was at Hearts training with us and whatnot. You couldn't really write it, to be honest."

Irving spoke to Doig to mark the moment.

"'How is this happening? We're both coming on at the same time.' I'm sure for him it's a dream come true, just like mine," he added.

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Departing Scotland assistant John Carver "has left big shoes to fill" says Steve Clarke as his right-hand man focuses solely on his role as Lechia Gdansk manager.

The 60-year-old took over the Polish top-flight team in November and will focus on his club job after being handed an extended contract.

Carver has been with Scotland since August 2020 when he replaced Alex Dyer as head coach Clarke's assistant

Speaking after the 4-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein in Vaduz, Clarke said: "John's leaving. He's got a full-time contract, three years in Gdansk. So he's going to move on. The only surprise for me is that it's taken five years for somebody to take John off me.

"We came across each other way back in 1998 at Newcastle when I was a young coach and John was an even younger coach. He was looking after the younger players at Newcastle.

"We always said that we'd try and work together. It took us a long time to get there. But we did. He's been outstanding for us.

"For me as a head coach, John's been a fantastic assistant. Obviously, I wish him all the best in the future. Now I've got to start the job of looking to fill his shoes, and they are big shoes to fill."