It’s only a matter of time before Kilmarnock midfielder David Watson gets his chance at Scotland Under-21 level.
That’s the message to the 18-year-old from head coach Scot Gemmill.
The teenager has played an integral role for Killie this season. Having only made his first league start for the club just over eight months ago, the box-to-box player has gone from strength to strength since becoming a first-team regular at Rugby Park. He has developed a reputation for his energy, fitness, ball-winning ability and timing of his runs into the opposition’s box.
The midfielder has shown he has more to his game, though. He scored his first senior goal at Celtic Park in a 3-1 loss last month and has more recently provided two assists for his teammates in wins over Livingston and Motherwell. He’s certainly grabbing plenty of attention from the wider audience of Scottish football now.
Derek McInnes recently pointed out that Watson should be plying his trade on the international scene for the U21s, rather than the Under-19s, given his impressive performances in the Premiership. He and fellow Killie academy graduate Bobby Wales have been heavily involved at that level in recent months.
While a call-up to the U21s hasn’t come this time around ahead of their upcoming Euros qualifiers in Belgium and Hungary, Gemmill has revealed Watson is on his radar.
“David is doing really well,” the 52-year-old admitted. “Fraser Stewart is also part of the staff at Kilmarnock who worked with the Under-21s for several years. When you’ve got people like Fraser and the manager Derek speaking so highly of a player then of course it’s great to see him playing in the Premiership. We haven’t got that many players doing that. It’s fantastic.
“Right now he’s still eligible for the Under-19s and they’ve got some really important games. We just have to try to make sure there is a little bit of a blend of players.
“There’s no doubt that everybody can see what a fantastic prospect David is. Lennon Miller is doing the same at Motherwell as well.
“It’s great to have these players in the U19s that undoubtedly could easily be involved with the U21s. It’s just a matter of time before that happens.
“I haven’t spoken directly to Derek about David. I’ve spoken to Derek many times, he’s always been very respectful of the U21s level. I remember when he was the manager of Aberdeen he came to watch Scott McKenna play when we beat Holland. That led to an opportunity for Scott to get into the Aberdeen team.
“He’s signed some former U21 players recently, he was asking about Lewis Mayo for example. Derek has utilised this level in the past. I think all the managers are very aware that the best young players are in the U21s and they’re quite rightly very familiar with all of them.”
