Andy Irving didn’t manage his Scotland debut against either Croatia or Portugal but he is still being tipped to be an international star of the future.
The West Ham midfielder, 24, earned his first call-up to the national team for the Nations League double header after taking the long and winding road to becoming a Premier League midfielder.
Irving left Hearts in 2021 for German third tier side Türkgücü München, only to see them go BUST after a year and leave his future up in the air. That proved to be a blessing in disguise though as a switch to Austria Klagenfurt came about and he starred in the Bundesliga, six goals and nine assists from the centre of the park in his first season.
After a link-up between the Austrians and West Ham, the first transfer between the two clubs was an astonishing move for the Scot which would have seemed unthinkable just a few years before. He was loaned back and performed even better – ten goals and five assists.
But Irving pitched up in London for pre-season and his since become a fully fledged Premier League midfielder by making two sub appearances, plus one in the EFL Cup, earning him his call-up.
There was reported transfer interest from Espanyol and others before the end of the summer window but he decided to stay put and try his luck in the English top flight.
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Craig Levein tipped off Scotland boss about Irving
Craig Levein was an early mentor to the player when he was coming through at Hearts, a skinny young midfielder who was physically “weak” but possessed a lot of technical ability.
The 59-year-old insists he is not surprised by the level his former protege has managed to reach.
“No, not really,” he said, speaking exclusively to Not the Old Firm. “He’s gone round a more circuitous route than most. When I was leaving Hearts he was away to the German third division, then he went to Austria and did really well.
“Andy was really weak physically when he was 17, 18 but he was still growing and he wasn’t as robust as he is now. He now looks like a really good athlete. But technically, he was always superb. He could see a pass, execute a pass, which is even more important. He would take all the set-pieces and was very accurate with those. And he had a calmness in possession of the ball.”
Former Scotland boss Levein also revealed he tipped off the current one, Steve Clarke, about Irving.
He explained: “I actually phoned Steve about him maybe a couple of years ago when he was doing quite well in Austria, just to sort of put his name on the radar. It’s obviosuly been a while but I’m pleased to see him get an opportunity.
“When I look at him now he is a different animal altogether to the kid I remember at Hearts. I get a text every now and again from his dad, and have some back and forth with him. I get a great deal of pleasure from seeing a kid from any academy, whether it’s John Souttar or Andy, or (Aaron) Hickey, Andy Webster in his time. I really enjoy working with those guys at the start of their career and seeing them going onto bigger and better things.”
West Ham star Irving trusted to make transfer decisions
As mentioned, Irving appeared to ignore transfer interest in the summer to stay put at West Ham.
Should he continue to only make fleeting appearances though, and if the interest remains, he may have a decision to make.
Moving abroad worked for him in the past and is often seen as a good choice for a more technical player. But Levein wouldn’t rule out an EPL stay.
“I think either of those options is pretty good, eh?,” he smiled. “He’s made decisions already in his career a wee bit out of the norm and it has worked for him. So I would trust him and his agent to make the right decisions for his future.
“But he’s a great boy and I’m delighted he’s got to the point where he is. I’m very, very confident that if he gets opportunities we have another very good midfield player.”