Scotland has now produced hundreds of footballers plying their trade in all corners of the world; Italy to Australia, India, Belgium and many more nations. One player in particular however many felt was on the cusp of being something special and that was former Dundee United attacking midfielder, Ryan Gauld.
Remember him? One of the many in that talented crop of United players during the 2013/14 season, Gauld stood out for his dribbling ability and all-round attacking threat. This combined with the small stature gave him the "baby Messi" label but what happened to the young player with big expectations? Gauld has had seasons upon seasons of playing in the Sporting B team following his move abroad but has never broken into the first team. An injury-riddled loan spell at Hibs had me worried for his career but it has been flipped back onto the right track again since his permanent move away from Sporting to fellow Liga Nos side, Farense.
Gauld was named Liga Pro Player of the Year in his first permanent season in Farense colours as they got promoted to the top tier of Portuguese football. 2020/21 then came around and it would see Farense fail to cut it with the elite and facing relegation however Gauld individually thrived despite the lack of talent around him to keep the club up. The Scot was Farense's leading goal scorer and assister by far also finishing at the top of Liga Nos for key passes. Playing in multiple different formations and positions, Gauld spent the whole season being the main focal point of that team and if surrounded by more clinical finishers may have just been able to drag them out of the relegation zone.
Three of Ryan Gauld's assists via Foot Plus on YouTube
The image above contains Gauld's three assists that didn't come directly from a dead ball and shows his ability to create from different scenarios. The midfielder probably should've had more from open play as well as according to Sofascore he created 13 big chances but was only rewarded with 7 assists. Another image showing Gauld's immense contribution to Farense can be found below.
To me, his heatmap from the 2020/21 season just sums up his Farense career and how much running and creating he has done to try and drag them through certain matches.
The 25-year-old has since found himself in a move to the MLS, finally leaving Portugal after his seven-year stay for a fee of £315k. Now playing at Vancouver Whitecaps, the former United man has picked up right where he left off and completely turned the team around. Highlighted in a fantastic article by fansite, Eighty SIx Forever Gauld has upped the expected goals for the Canadian side by 0.25 as well as the shots per game by over three. Ryan Gauld leads Vancouver by far for key passes p90 (although I should point out that he has played fewer games than most) and is already second out of the whole team for assists having played 15 less games than first place.
As the title suggests the main reason I have written this piece is to make a case for Gauld's inclusion in Steve Clarke's Scotland plans. As one international break ends we leave with success but still room for improvement especially following the Faroes Islands fixture. Gauld over the last two years has relentlessly worked to being that player his potential suggested he would become and I think has finally earned that place to be in the squad seven years on from his last inclusion.
According to football analytics site FBREF, Gauld is in the top 1% for shots on target p90 in the MLS and top 3% for non-penalty expected goals p90 in the last 365 days. To put it all into perspective, last season Gauld played for the 2nd bottom team in Liga NOS whilst Scotland regular Ryan Christie played for 2nd top Scottish Premiership side, Celtic. Despite them playing in the same positions and Christie lining up for a side that was expected to beat most in the league Ryan Gauld outperformed his namesake Christie in goals, dribbles p90, times fouled p90 and key passes p90.
For me, all the previously mentioned stats and comparisons show that it can't be a negative for Clarke to include Gauld in at least the squad as a different option off the bench.
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