Uncapped Scottish midfielder given international endorsement as ex-Celtic hitman's 282-day wait continues
The uncapped Scotland midfielder has been tipped for international recognition.
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has been told he should be keeping tabs on uncapped midfielder Marc Leonard following his impressive start to the season with Birmingham City.
The 23-year-old, who was born in Glasgow, joined the Blues from Brighton last summer and was part of the squad that won EFL League One in record-breaking fashion last season, and has battled his way back into their starting XI upon their return to the English second tier despite a glut of summer signings.
Capped by Scotland at various youth levels, Leonard spent four years in the Hearts youth academy as a teenager before being snapped up by Brighton in 2021. He struggled to break into the Seagulls' first team, though, and spent two years on loan at Northampton Town, winning the club’s player of the year award.
While Birmingham were on the wrong side of a 3-2 defeat to Hull City at the weekend, head coach Chris Davies singled out Leonard for special praise and believes his form could see him join club teammate Lyndon Dykes in Clarke’s Scotland squad in the coming months.
“What I’ve seen of him this season has really impressed me,” said Davies. “Physically, he covers the ground. He outruns people. He’s aggressive, good on the ball. He has the quality to play at an international level — it’s something for him to aim at. He needs to stay in his team consistently, and once that happens, they [Scotland] will take notice of what’s going on.”
Meanwhile, former Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi’s struggles at St Andrew’s continue following his £10million move from Rennes in the summer. The 29-year-old striker, who bagged over 80 goals for Brendan Rodgers’ side during his time at Celtic Park, is yet to score in the EFL Championship for his new side.
His last league goal came way back on January 11, when he bagged a brace for the Hoops in a 4-1 win over Ross County, meaning the Japanese international has now gone 282 days without a league goal, as his career post-Celtic continues to baffle those who saw him score freely in the Scottish Premiership.
While he did find the target in a Carabao Cup win over Sheffield United back in August, patience is beginning to wear thin on the blue side of the Midlands with the frontman after missing several good opportunities. He went close to breaking his duck in the defeat to Hull at the weekend when he latched onto a smart pass from fellow former Celtic star Patrick Roberts, but fired wide. As noted by BirminghamLive, his latest miss prompted “groans louder than usual when the ball was sent spinning towards the advertising hoardings”.
Following the game, Davies threw his support behind Furuhashi, saying: “I’ve always said he just gets lots of chances. He’s been sharp in training over this last week with lots of finishes, and that’s a good sign. You can see that it’s coming. With Kyogo, the fact he always gets chances is the encouraging part and I know he can score because I’ve seen the hundreds he has scored. He’s got to continue and believe in himself like I believe in him, and I know he’ll come good.”
Staying with Birmingham, the club have been tipped to part ways with former Rangers and Aberdeen midfielder Scott Wright in the January transfer window. Yet to feature for the club this season, the 28-year-old featured just 13 times for the club last season before injury ended his season prematurely.
According to former England international Lee Hendrie, the former Ibrox ace is likely to depart in the coming months. “I think obviously coming down from Rangers, [he's] probably not got the game time he'd probably expected to get,” said Hendrie. “I think he's a decent player as well, but for obvious reasons, he's not featuring, so yes, I think there will be a lot of movement, particularly from that Birmingham City squad.”
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