Atletico Madrid are set to rival Tottenham for Scotland captain and left-back Andy Robertson, 32, who has confirmed he will leave Liverpool when his contract expires in June. (Record), external
Everton have set their sights on 31-year-old Aston Villa and Scotland midfielder John McGinn. (Football Insider), external
Image source, SNS"This is the best group ever to lead."
Those are the words of Scotland captain Andy Robertson after collecting the Scottish Football Writers' Association Men's International Player of the Year award on behalf of the entire squad.
Manager Steve Clarke has been fiercely loyal to a core group who have now taken Scotland to consecutive major tournaments and the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
And Robertson believes the togetherness within the camp is a key factor in their success as they prepare to face Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in the United States in June.
"Being able to collect this on behalf of the whole squad is a really nice touch," said the 32-year-old.
"To pick one player out would have been really difficult. For the whole squad to get recognised is nice.
"This is the best group ever to lead. That's not me exaggerating. It's full of good people. It's full of people with no ego at all and we all fight for the same cause.
"We all just want to send everyone inside Hampden home happy. That's the good thing about it.
"International squads can be big, maybe a 23 to 26-man squad. So you need everyone fighting in the same direction, whether you play or don't play.
"We've got a very rare group who does that. They're all supportive and that's why we can achieve what we've achieved.
"We want to go and achieve a lot of good things in the summer as well and give the whole country something to shout about."
Scotland are also in serious contention for Women's World Cup qualification, leading the way in their group on goal difference following two draws with Belgium this month.
Captain Caroline Weir, who won the SFWA Women's International Player of the Year award, said: "We wanted to hit the ground running. We put a lot of groundwork in at the end of last year when Mel (Andreatta, head coach) came in, but obviously where it counts is in competitive matches.
"I think what the men have achieved has been unbelievable. What that does for football fans in Scotland, and for the country as a whole, is amazing to see.
"Of course, it makes us want it even more. We want to be part of that. We want to be doing it this time next year. Of course I'm dreaming about it. We all are. We all want to be there."
Scotland defender Jack Hendry has been offered a lucrative deal by Al-Hilal as the 30-year-old prepares to leave Saudi rivals Al-Ettifaq as a free agent this summer. (Glasgow Times), external
Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson backs striker Kevin Nisbet for a Scotland World Cup call-up. (Record - subscription required), external
Robinson challenges 11-times capped Nisbet, 29, to make a late push for the World Cup. (Press and Journal - subscription required), external
Scotland centre-half Jack Hendry will leave Al-Ettifaq as a free agent this summer as the Saudi club lack the budget to offer the 30-year-old an acceptable contract renewal. (Ben Jacobs on X), external
Udinese beat two other clubs to sign 19-year-old Lennon Miller from Motherwell last summer after convincing the Scotland midfielder of their track record of taking players to the next level before selling them on, according to Serie A pundit Manuel Pascali. (Daily Record), external
Los Angeles centre-half Ryan Porteous has not given up hope of making the Scotland squad for this summer's World Cup, despite the 27-year-old earning his last cap more than a year ago, after a chat with head coach Steve Clarke. (The Herald), external
Former Scotland striker Dougie Freedman is in advanced talks to be Tottenham Hotspur's new co-sporting director along with former Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl. (Football Insider), external
Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.
Former Celtic coach Darren O'Dea says Bournemouth and Scotland winger Ben Gannon-Doak felt he was being held back by the Scottish champions' "duty of care" despite being handed his first-team debut at 16 - and that the 20-year-old is a "generational talent". (The Margins), external
Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has revealed that national head coach Carlo Ancelotti sought his counsel over whether to recall 34-year-old Santos forward Neymar for this summer's World Cup, at which his side will face Scotland. (Football Transfers), external
Hibs midfielder Josh Mulligan is "running out of weeks" to make his return from injury this season, but head coach David Gray thinks there is a "strong possibility" the Scotland international could still play. (Edinburgh Evening News), external
Haiti players have been handed a £2m bonus from their government for qualifying for the World Cup, where they are in the same group as Scotland. (The National), external
Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.
Napoli have offered Scott McTominay a significant increase to his £2.6m per year salary if the 29-year-old Scotland midfielder extends his contract until 2030. (Il Mattino), external
AC Milan are considering a move for Andy Robertson should the 32-year-old Scotland left-back's summer switch to Tottenham Hotspur from Liverpoolfall through if the London club are relegated. (Sportmediaset), external
Dinamo Zagreb chief scout Tomislav Sokota says they have already received offers of around £10m for 29-year-old Scotland centre-half Scott McKenna, who has reportedly been scouted by Celtic. (The National), external
Former Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam has revealed he was interested in the St Mirren manager's job when Stephen Robinson left for Aberdeen. (The Herald), external
Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.
Image source, Getty ImagesScott McTominay has become a key player for Napoli
Image source, SNSFormer Liverpool and Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam reckons Andy Robertson is still the Reds' best left-back despite deciding to leave the club this summer.
Robertson announced last week he would be departing Anfield at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on a nine-year Liverpool career in which he has won nine trophies, including the 2019 Champions League and two Premier League titles.
The Scotland captain, who is in advanced talks with Tottenham, has been restricted to just seven starts in the league this term following the arrival of Milos Kerkez last summer.
But Adam said: "I think you can put him up there as a legend of the football club.
"He's won every major honour, he's been there nine years, his performances over the years have been incredible.
"And for me, I still think he's the best left-back in the football club. He's been one of the great Liverpool left-backs over time.
"And he's had an unbelievable career from his rise from being released (by Celtic), to Queen's Park, to Dundee United, to Hull, to then going and playing for Liverpool for nine years. It's a special career that he's had.
"He's a really humble guy and understands where he's come from, and he deserves everything he gets."
Adam was clear in his verdict that the full-back is still capable of competing at the highest level.
"I think if you're any other club in the Premier League, maybe apart from two or three, you'd still be looking to sign Andy Robertson as one of the top left-backs in the league," said 40-year-old Adam, who is currently coaching in Burnley's academy.
"He's got that opportunity to pick where he wants to go. I don't think it's a done deal (with Tottenham), I think where Tottenham are in the league at the moment, it's going to be maybe a big decision on where he goes.
"But if he goes to Tottenham, it's still a big football club that obviously has underachieved this year and he'd be looking to try and come in and improve them."
Image source, Getty ImagesScott McTominay (left) equalised for Napoli against Parma
Scott McTominay's 14th goal of the season was not enough to prevent Napoli dropping two more points in their bid to retain the Italian title.
The Scotland midfielder slotted a precise 15-yard equaliser after 60 minutes away to 14th-placed Parma, who had taken the lead after just a minute through Gabriel Strefezza.
The draw means second-top Napoli, for whom Scotland team-mate Billy Gilmour was unused substitute, are now nine points behind Internazionale after the leaders' thrilling 4-3 win away to Como on Sunday evening.
Kieron Bowie scored his second goal for Hellas Verona since signing from Hibernian in January, but his fine solo finish to equalise against fellow Scotland striker Che Adams' Torino was not enough to prevent the second bottom visitors losing 2-1.
With Lawrence Shankland also scoring from the penalty spot in Heart of Midlothian's comeback win over Motherwell to stay top of the Scottish Premiership, with his 18th of the season, competition for striker berths at this summer's World Cup finals is hotting up.
George Hirst grabbed his 10th goal of the season, thumping home the second of the game in the East Anglian derby win away to Norwich City as Ipswich Town consolidated second spot in the Championship.
Oli McBurnie also pressed his case for a Scotland recall as the 29-year-old fired his 15th goal of the season for Hull City, but the side sitting sixth in the Championship failed to build on that and, after former Rangers midfielder John Lundstram's red card, conceded two late goals to the striker's former side, Sheffield United.
Meanwhile, Scotland Under-21 winger Emilio Lawrence inspired Luton Town's comeback to lift the Vertu Trophy with a 3-1 win over League One rivals Stockport County at Wembley.
The 20-year-old on loan from Manchester City fired the equaliser, his second goal of the season, after former St Johnstone striker Adama Sidibeh had given County an early lead.
Former Scotland youth defender Kal Naismith set up Luton's second for Nahki Wells.
Image source, SNSSt Johnstone were Barry Douglas' last club
Former Scotland left-back Barry Douglas has officially announced he is retiring from "the playing side of the beautiful game", stressing his "immense pride" after a career during which he won league titles in England and Poland.
The 36-year-old has been without a club since leaving St Johnstone following their relegation from the Scottish Premiership last summer.
But, before then, he had twice won the Ekstraklasa, and the Polish Super Cup, with Lech Poznań, the Turkish Cup with Konyaspor and the Championship in England with both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United.
"In my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd make it as a professional footballer - never mind win multiple titles in different countries and go on to play almost 500 games," Douglas said on Instagram., external
"Now that I'm finally 'hanging up the boots', I can look back with immense pride, knowing I gave it everything I had."
In a time when the Scotland left-back spot was dominated by Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, Douglas managed just one cap, as a substitute for the former in a 1-0 win over Hungary in 2018.
"Every kid grows up dreaming of playing for their country - so to have made that a reality is something I'll always be incredibly proud of," he said.
Having started his career with Queen's Park, Douglas moved to Dundee United, Lech, Konyaspor, Wolves, Leeds and, after a loan to Blackburn Rovers, returned for a second title-winning spell with Lech before his final season with St Johnstone.
Douglas paid special tribute to his wife, Debbie, saying his globetrotting career was "as much yours as it is mine".
"The truth is, without you by my side, I would never have achieved what I have," he added.
"I'm forever grateful for your support, your sacrifices, and for taking that leap into the unknown when we first moved to Poland together to begin our adventure.
"Now look at us - two beautiful kids, multiple winners' medals and memories that will last a lifetime."
