With the Betfred Cup group draw already completed, the start of the Scottish season is already on the horizon. With a bigger emphasis on youth in recent years due to the financial gulf between the Scottish and English leagues, let’s have a look at one player who could break through for each side next season and take on a key role.
Aberdeen – Bruce Anderson
Aberdeen look likely to go through a rebuild this summer with Gary Mackay Steven’s contract ending, the loans of James Wilson and Greg Stewart finishing, Stevie May and Niall McGinn struggling for goals and likely interest in top scorer Sam Cosgrove likely to get some attention from down south. Anderson featured sporadically in the first half of last season and spent the second half on Loan at Dunfermline in the Championship where he scored 5 goals. He shows fantastic instinct in the box to pick up on a loose ball or redirect a shot and the ability to play on the last defender and get in behind. His two goals for Aberdeen last season were important equalisers against Kilmarnock and Rangers so he’s shown he can do it; this could be his season to get more minutes and establish himself as an important member of the squad.
Celtic – Michael Johnston
Neil Lennon getting the job on a permanent basis could be a great thing for Johnston, he trusted him to start the Scottish Cup Final against Hearts where he was one of Celtic’s more dangerous players in a fairly lethargic team performance. Johnston looks to have a place in the team playing wide left and cutting onto his favoured right foot. Scott Sinclair looks to have lost his pace and confidence and there’s no one else in the current squad who provides that threat. Much will depend on how spooked Celtic get by Rangers transfer business this summer and if they feel they need throw a lot of money at the squad, but with the champions league qualifiers starting in early July Johnston may get a chance to show he can be trusted for more minutes this season.
Hamilton – Reegan Mimnaugh
Hamilton have a remarkable track record in producing central midfielders, so far James McCarthy, James McArthur, Lewis Ferguson, Ali Crawford and Greg Docherty have come through the academy and earned a move. He won’t turn 18 until December but started to feature towards the end of last season. He lacks a physical presence but looks at his best deep in midfield with tidy passing and shows good anticipation and the ability to step forward to intercept or force a mistake from the player in possession. Hamilton have always been a team that show a determination to bring their own players through and Mimnaugh could be the next one to become a regular in the senior team.
Hearts – Aaron Hickey
Hickey started the last game of the season against Celtic and the cup final at the age of 16 but was completely overshadowed by the story-line of Karamoko Dembele on the Celtic bench. He looked a bit scared in the league game against Celtic but visibly grew in confidence and didn’t look out of place at all in Hearts biggest game of the season in the final. He’s tenacious and uses his body well despite being a bit physically underdeveloped compared to the opposition, he also showed the ability to get forward. As it stands for next season Demetri Mitchell will be going back to Man Utd and Ben Garuccio will be out until after Christmas, so Hickey is Hearts only recognisable left back. He’s shown he can play in the first team so expect him to play a bit more next season.
Hibs – Oli Shaw
Shaw was 3rd behind Marc McNulty and Florian Kamberi when Paul Heckingbottom took over last season but featured regularly from the bench and still managed 6 goals in the league. When you look at these, he demonstrated the ability to score different types of goals, getting in behind the defence and slotting past the keeper, stealing in at the back post and from outside the box. He tends to play better in a front two but with Mark McNulty’s future unclear for now, Shaw has shown he can play in the Premiership and could step up for a more prominent role next season.
Kilmarnock – Greg Kiltie
It could be more apt to label this as a likely comeback story opposed to a breakthrough as Kiltie played almost every game for Killie in the 2015/2016 season and looked set to move down south with Everton and Crystal Palace showing an interest. He was then struck down with injuries and played only 22 times the following 3 seasons in the Premiership with 0 goals. A loan spell at Greenock Morton last January looked to be make or break and he was an absolute standout, looking easily the best player in a poor Morton side. More importantly he stayed fit so expect the incoming Kilmarnock manager to use him regularly this season, particularly with Jordan Jones leaving.
Livingston – Jack Hamilton
Livi started last season so strongly they were realistically safe by Christmas, but this season may not be as easy for them. Gary Holt is strongly linked to replace Steve Clark at Kilmarnock, joint top scorers Ryan Hardie and Craig Halkett are leaving, and second season syndrome is a real thing. They play a direct style and are exceptionally dangerous from set pieces, enter the returning Jack Hamilton from his loan spell helping Alloa survive in the championship. There’s no doubting that Hamilton is a raw talent, but he has all the qualities that could thrive in this Livi team. He’s strong in the air, strong, quick and will chase every ball down. His experience of being a huge underdog with Alloa could also come in handy with Livingston looking to be weakening when the other teams around them are trending in a positive direction, that underdog spirit will be needed next season
Motherwell – James Scott
Originally, he gained notoriety last season for chasing the ball down from a throw in and setting up a goal at Celtic Park. This would usually be applauded, however given Motherwell were returning the ball to Celtic following a break in play, it sparked a big incident in an otherwise regulation home win for Celtic. Getting past that he went on to play 12 games last season with just the one goal but showed a real improvement in his hold up play and could be an important part of the Motherwell side next season.
Rangers – Jake Hastie
Broke through in a big way for Motherwell last season and the worst kept secret of a transfer to Rangers was finally made official this month. There’s no doubting he’s said all he can to endear himself to the Rangers fans since signing but it remains to be seen what he can do on the pitch next season. Currently up against Daniel Candeias and Greg Stewart for the right-wing position he offers something different to both. Possessing electric pace and strength he can power past defenders easily and with James Tavernier overlapping outside him it could cause a real problem for most of the teams in the Premiership. On paper he looks like a great option for Rangers, it just remains to be seen how much trust Steven Gerrard will show in him next season.
Ross County – Davis Keillor Dunne
Ross County powered away from the chasing pack last season to win the Championship with relative ease in the end. They kept most of their squad intact from their relegation season and will be hoping they can show they have the quality to play in the Premiership. Keillor Dunne is still only 21 and played 29 games in that relegation campaign. He’s a right footer who tends to play wide left and cut in, he was one of the better players in a turgid Falkirk side who were relegated to league 1 last season. Ross County have a healthy budget compared to some of the Premiership sides and may bring a lot of players in, but Keillor Dunne will be looking to break back into the side this season.
St Johnstone – Liam Gordon
Signed from Hearts in 2015, Gordon has had to bide his time to establish himself in the first team. With Joe Shaughnessy’s contract situation dragging on since January, he was finally dropped in favour of Gordon who looks solid alongside Jason Kerr. Gordon is your archetypal no-nonsense centre back, he’s strong in the challenge, dominant and balanced when attacking the ball in the air but lacks a bit of composure on the ball. Even if Shaughnessy decides to stay on next season it’s not nailed on that he would regain his place in the defence, Gordon took his chance this season and gained the trust of the manager. He is a St Johnstone fan and touted as a future captain of the club, expect to see him and Jason
Kerr start at centre-back next season.
St Mirren – Cody Cooke
Cooke made the step up to full time football at the age of 26 from Truro City and took a while to get going but ended the season superbly with a hat-trick on the last day of the season. St Mirren beat Dundee Utd on penalties in the play off to stay up and will look to improve next season. They have a solid team but lack a goal threat so if that hat trick is a sign of things to come then he could become a vital part of the side next season. Now he knows what full time football is like and with the prospect of a full preseason with the Saints he shouldn’t take as long to get going next season.