Is Ross Stewart the answer to Scotland's goalscoring woes?

The Sunderland striker has been called up to the Scotland squad for the first time.

It is no secret that the Scotland National Team has consistently struggled for a regular goalscorer over the last 15 years. The introduction of Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes has provided something different, yet neither can find regular goalscoring form for their respective clubs, and even less so in the lead up to international breaks. Prolific goal scoring form has been hard to come by.

Now that Lyndon Dykes has withdrawn from the Scotland squad due to injury, and the opportunity has finally presented itself for Ross Stewart. The Sunderland talisman has been on prolific form in the English League One, scoring 24 goals in 46 appearances as the club won promotion back to the EFL Championship, after spending years in the 3rd tier.

The forward has shown glimmers of quality throughout his career, scoring 28 in 82 during his time at Ross County, being a key figure in their promotion to the Premiership and Challenge cup winning campaign. His move to Sunderland, thought to be in the region of £300,000, was met with excitement from fans, and they would not be disappointed. He repaid this faith with a debut goal against Accrington Stanley, from which he has never looked back.

Yet despite plenty of fan outcry, the Scotland call-up took it’s time. Steve Clarke, like many modern national team managers, see’s squad harmony as a key element of a successful team. Clarke has certainly come under fire for turning to the tried and tested, ignoring club form and being hesitant to give fresh faces a chance. It took an injury drop-out to finally give Ross Stewart his first call-up, and his first cap - a small cameo in Scotland’s 2-0 win over Armenia earlier this week.

A striker in-form, and a team struggling for goals; Ross Stewart and Scotland seem like a match made in heaven. With 2 games left in the current international period, the tartan army will be eager to see what the ‘Lochness Drogba’ can bring to the table, however, Steve Clarke is not a man who makes selections to appease the fans, and to say that Stewart will get anything more than a few 5-10 minute cameos would be a risky bet.

Scotland will play the Republic of Ireland tonight at 5pm, and will finish this group of games against Armenia on Tuesday.