[smcl]

The best Scottish players go south and play in the Premier League in England or the Championship. But England can be very sink-or-swim in my opinion, Billy Gilmour was (and IMO is) a promising youngster who has basically been told he's got no future at Chelsea even though he's very talented. There's been a potentially promising recent trend recently of a few Scottish youngsters being sought out in Italy - Aaron Hickey had signed for Bologna a year back and a great season, Liam Henderson is a regular at Empoli and Lewis Ferguson left Aberdeen for (coincidentally) Bologna this season. I say it's a trend because it's so recent and so unlikely, previously if a Scot played in Italy they were truly a superstar. We're talking Joe Jordan, Denis Law and Graeme Souness. Personally I hope Gilmour ends up in Serie A or La Liga.

That said, you may have a point. Many Scots boys grow up idolising Celtic or Rangers. It could be that many get signed for their boyhood club and choose to remain there, even if a club who is better for their long-term development is interested.