Former Hibs star backed as World Cup wildcard as form surge could see him enter Steve Clarke's American dream
The Aberdeen marksman is making a late charge to get his seat on the plane
Former Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet has put himself in the conversation for a Scotland call-up for the World Cup, according to ex Rangers defender and internationalist Alan Hutton.
The Aberdeen forward first made his way into Steve Clarke’s squad in 2021 while he was scoring goals for fun at Easter Road and made 10 appearances for his country. The numbers dried up for him in his subsequent spell in the EFL Championship with Millwall however, since he made his Dons move permanent in the summer, he’s starting to look back to his best. In a struggling Aberdeen side, Nisbet has nine goals and an assist to his name and was unlucky not to add to that on Friday night in their 2-2 stalemate away to Livingston, as his second half header found the back of the net but was recorded as a Daniel Finlayson own goal.
Throughout Clarke’s tenure, an out-and-out number nine has been identified as a position Scotland lack depth in. Torino’s Che Adams and Birmingham City’s Lyndon Dykes have rotated in recent years with neither quite being able to nail down their starting place. Meanwhile Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland scored in the all-important win over Denmark in qualifying to help Scotland get to America and is recording impressive numbers domestically. With four strikers being the usual quota, could Nisbet now sneak onto the plane in the last spot?
Former Hibs man not to be ruled out for American dream
Speaking on Premier Sports as pundit ahead of Friday night’s fixture, Hutton believes Nisbet is still in with an outside chance of a Scotland call-up and that new Dons boss Stephen Robinson is the right man to keep him motivated. When asked if Nisbet should be written off for a call-up, Hutton responded: “Absolutely not. I mean, I think Stephen Robinson coming to the football club is going to help him improve.
“We know he's a goal scorer, he knows where the back of the net is. But you look at the way he wants to play football, he wants to get the ball wide, he wants to get overloads out wide, balls into the box. He is a finisher and I think he'll flourish with the likes of (Toyosi) Olusanya next to him. I think if he's a manager as well, you'll be dangling that carrot in front of him. There's an opportunity there for Scotland because he wants him to play at the top level.”
There are a number of candidates to take the fourth striker spot, including another former Hibee Kieron Bowie, however the goals have dried up for him in his first half-season in the Serie A with Hellas Verona. Elsewhere EFL Championship stars Tommy Conway, Ross Stewart, Oli McBurnie and George Hirst are all in contention. The latter has been in the last few squads so is perhaps the favourite, having recently helped Ipswich regain promotion to the Premier League.
Too much to do for Nisbet?
Meanwhile, fellow pundit and former Celtic man Charlie Mulgrew thinks Nisbet has given himself a little bit too much to do in terms of a call-up even though he benefits from Scotland lacking depth in the final third. He rebutted: “I think he's (Nisbet) got a lot to do. But honestly, in my opinion, getting the Scotland squad, I think that it's a bit far away now for him, considering there's not many games left in the season.
“He's had an amazing season but he probably had to have a much better season to get in the Scotland squad. But in saying that, it's an area in the Scotland squad where it needs to improve. So he'll be thinking if he can get a few goals, then it gives himself a chance. Put it this way, if he was a midfielder, he would think he had no chance. But the fact he’s a striker, and that's where we struggle for depth, he could have an outside chance.”