Ross Stewart has once again been overlooked by Scotland boss Steve Clarke for their upcoming friendlies against Poland and Austria or Wales later this month. Clarke's decision to omit the Sunderland striker, is the Black Cats' gain ahead of an important run of fixtures this month.
Alex Neil's side take on Lincoln City at the LNER Stadium next, with a trip to League One leaders Rotherham on the horizon. The Wearsiders know Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe Wanderers are hot on their tail in the race for the play-offs, all three aforementioned sides have games in hand on the Black Cats.
If Sunderland are to continue their impressive unbeaten run, Stewart will be an integral part of their starting XI. The 25-year-old leads the League One goal scoring charts with 22 goals and two assists to his name.
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Th Scotsman's incredible form this season has seen him linked with a number of Championship and Premier League clubs, but that international call-up remains elusive. It's quite staggering that a player of Stewart's ilk has been overlooked this campaign, with him the standout striker in the division.
Sure, there may be question marks over the quality of opposition, with murmurs online suggesting Clarke would seriously consider Stewart if the Black Cats were in the Championship. But, that alone is somewhat insulting to those in the division.
You need just look back at some of the names in Northern Ireland's recent squads to show what League One has to offer. The likes of Tom Flanagan and Conor McLaughlin have all had international caps whilst playing in the red and white of Sunderland.
When Stewart arrived on Wearside he was very much an unknown quantity and took time to settle in on Wearside. Injuries disrupted his start to life at Sunderland, but a goal on his debut gave the Black Cats faithful a taste of what was to come this season.
The Scot has one of the best goal conversion ratios in the division at 24 per cent, with a 54 per cent shot accuracy. Combine this with pressing tenacity, physical attributes and technical ability, Scotland are missing out on one of the hidden gems in English football.
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