Celtic perfect for Anthony Ralston but West Ham would aid Scotland ambitions

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Even Celtic’s most in-form players have struggled to win over Gordon Strachan – will West Ham target Anthony Ralston suffer the same fate?

Anthony Ralston may be only five league games into his Celtic career but the 18-year-old is already earning plenty of admirers. According to the Scottish Sun, Premier League West Ham United have sent scouts to monitor the teenage right-back, who was given his senior debut by Brendan Rodgers as recently as May.

And anyone who has watched Ralston in action will tell you why, with the Scotland youth international blessed with real verve in attack and drawing inevitable comparisons with his fellow Celtic academy graduate and full-back partner Kieran Tierney.

Scotland boss Gordon Strachan appears to be a firm admirer too, calling up Ralston to train with the senior squad ahead of their crucial World Cup qualifiers during the international break. And Ralston, who is set to land his first Under-21 cap against Holland, admits that stepping up to the senior Scotland squad would be a dream.

“We’re all in this youth set-up to get to that standard, to get into the Scotland senior team. So last week was a great experience for me,” Ralston said in quotes reported by the Scottish Sun.

Dilemma?

Strangely enough, however, performing well for the Champions of Scotland is no guarantee that your nation will come calling – as Callum McGregor will be at pains to point out.

The 24-year-old has emerged as one of Celtic’s key players since the turn of the year but is yet to be rewarded with international recognition, admitting his disappointment after Strachan left him out of the 23-man squad and then opted not to call him up as a replacement for the injured Barry Bannan, per the Scottish Sun.

Furthermore, although he is a fully-fledged member of Scotland’s starting XI these days, Stuart Armstrong was forced to wait until March to make his senior bow despite excelling at Celtic for months.

There’s no doubt Ralston is better off learning his trade at Celtic – but a move to West Ham may give him a much better chance of fulfilling his Scotland dream.