Upcoming Scottish talents outside the SPFL (Part Two)

Welcome to part two of the latest series of articles on my blog. Today, we’ll be looking at five more upcoming Scottish talents to watch outside of the SPFL. Just to remind you of the criteria, each player has to be twenty one years of age or under and playing their club football outside of Scotland. Let’s begin. 

Ewan Urain

Background wise, Ewan Urain is the most compulsive player in this article. The striker plays for Bilbao Athletic, the ‘B’ team of La Liga side Atheltic Club. Despite being born in Spain, Urain is eligible to play for Scotland due to his Mother and has already done so at under twenty one level. The twenty one year old stands at an imposing 6”4; his height being one of his key attributes however he is also more than able with the ball at his feet. In a total of twenty nine appearances for Bilbao Atheltic across several seasons and competitions, Ewan Urain has scored a total of nine goals and assisted five, averaging a goal contribution every one hundred and sixty five minutes of football. The key positive is Urain has a direct path to the Atheltic Club first team. The club itself heavily relies on its academy and should Urain continue his goalscoring form so far this season for the B team, scoring two in five games, he may find himself a direct route into La Liga. 

Scott Banks

Next up on the list is Crystal Palace winger Scott Banks. The twenty year old has his roots in Scottish football after coming out of Dundee United’s academy. After a loan spell at Clyde, Banks signed for Premier League side Crystal Palace for a £270,000 fee (Transfermarkt). The attacker was then loaned out to Alloa Athletic and Dunfermline respectively for two six month periods. In the current campaign though, the right winger has made six appearances for Crystal Palace’s under twenty three side in the Premier League 2, the youth version of the Premier League, and the EFL Trophy. He’s scored two goals and set up a further two in this time. The reason behind Banks playing so few games is the fact he missed a number of matches due to a suspension. Despite having no senior appearances to his name for Crystal Palace, there are still high hopes for the Scot in South London. The youngster spent pre season with the first team and even scored in a friendly. In addition, Banks was on the bench for Palace’s Premier League opener against Chelsea. Not including his loan appearances, Banks has played eighteen times for Palace youth sides, mounting an accomplished combined tally of eleven goal involvements. Banks was born in West Lothian and has made a total of four appearances for Scotland at both under nineteen and twenty-one level, the majority of which have came for the latter. One of Banks’ specialities is his wand of a left foot. It would be pleasing to see the attacker be given the opportunity to settle down somewhere, possibly even for just a season, to exhibit his quality. 

Liam Morrison

Liam Morrison made the move from Celtic’s academy in Lennoxtown to Bavaria in the summer of 2019. The eighteen year old trained with the Celtic first team at the tender age of sixteen before being lured to the Allianz Arena by Bayern Munich. The Scot said the German giants offered him the “right pathway” however injuries have moderately stunted his progress in Europe. Previously, Morrison has represented Bayern’s under seventeens but has played for the club in the under nineteen Bundesliga this campaign. The centre back also has a combined twenty caps for Scotland at under sixteen and seventeen level but has yet to represent his nation at any higher levels than the aforementioned. Morrison is still just eighteen years of age and has a wealth of time to develop. Being at arguably one of the finest clubs on the continent can surely be a benefit for Morrison. 

Elliot Anderson

Elliot Anderson is one of the brightest prospects in the Newcastle academy and has already made two appearances for the first team, both coming against Arsenal in the FA Cup and Premier League from the bench. The eighteen year old is an attack minded midfielder and has a terrific goal scoring record at youth level for the Magpies. Across multiple competitions and seasons, Anderson has made fifty three appearances for Newcastle, scoring twenty goals and assisting eight. This works out at a goal contribution every two hundred and two minutes for Anderson, respectable, to say the least, for a midfielder. The youngster has dual nationality and is able to represent either of Scotland or England and has elected to play for the former so far throughout his career. Under sixteen and seventeen is where Anderson’s Scotland appearances have came from, making four across both age groups. He has also been a part of under eighteen and nineteen squads but didn’t make an appearance. With Newcastle’s pre-eminent financial takeover underway, it is unclear whether or not youth will be given a satisfactory opportunity to make a significant impact but Anderson has been on the bench several times for Newcastle this campaign so far. 

Luis Binks

Last, but by no means least, on my list of Scottish talents to watch outside of the SPFL is Luis Binks. The left footed central defender already has a host of clubs on his CV. After coming out of the academy of Spurs in North London, Binks joined CF Montreal in the MLS. Just some months later, the now twenty year old signed for Bologna. He was then immediately loaned out to his former club for the 20/21 season. Binks made twenty-six appearances for the Canadian based-MLS side throughout his loan spell there. He arrived back in Italy at the beginning of the 21/22 season ready to fight for a place in the team alongside fellow Scot Aaron Hickey, whom we spoke of in part one. Binks has played just three times for Bologna this season though, starting once against Udinese in Serie A. His other two appearances were brief cameos, from the bench, against Empoli and AC Milan in the same competition. Binks was born in Gillingham but is able to play for Scotland through his Grandfather. He has played for England however at under sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and under nineteen level. Nonetheless, the door remains open for Binks to switch allegiances and represent Scotland. 

That marks the end of my series of articles looking at upcoming Scottish talents to watch outside of the SPFL. Thank you for reading and if you have any thoughts or opinions, feel free to leave a comment below. Also, my Twitter is @Josh_Footblog where follows, likes and re-tweets are all greatly appreciated.