FORMER Bologna scout Francesco Strozzi insists Scottish football is underrated after watching Lewis Ferguson and Josh Doig make the switch to Serie A earlier this week.
Just days after Scotland internationalist Aaron Hickey departed Bologna for Brentford in an £18million move, Ferguson left Aberdeen for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side, while left-back Doig quit Hibs for Hellas Verona.
The pair join fellow countryman Liam Henderson in the country, with the midfielder now plying his trade at Empoli following spells at Bari, Verona and Lecce.
And Strozzi, who was involved in identifying Hickey as a potential signing before his £1.5million switch from Hearts two years ago, is adamant the Scottish game does not get the credit it deserves.
He said: “My first thought about Scottish football is that the Scottish Premiership is an incredibly, incredibly underrated league.
"In my opinion, it doesn't have quite enough attention in the eyes of many scouting departments around the world.
"Scottish football is fast, dynamic and physical, so for Italian clubs who are trying to find young players who have these requirements, I think it is a good league to watch and, right now, not find too much competition for players.
"When you watch Scottish Premiership games, you can tell there are a lot of valuable players, but when scouting based on Serie A, the priority is that they should be the right one for the team.”
Speaking to Sky Sports, Strozzi added: “I am highly impressed by what the Scottish FA is doing.
“Watching a lot of games of the youth national team made me appreciate their work concerning the improvement of football coaching there.
"Their facilities are amazing and, even when it comes to the club side, Scottish football is gaining more and more importance in European football - even if it is already full of historically important clubs.
"In my opinion, they are working really, really hard to be competitive and also to let their young prospects become important assets for clubs even outside the UK.
"I think the recent moves are going to bring Scottish football onto the radar of many more clubs in Italy.”
Scotland midfielder Ferguson made the move to Bologna in a deal that could earn Aberdeen up to £3million and Strozzi believes it will be money well spent.
He added: “I think he will be very, very important in the club's way of playing because Sinisa Mihajlovic is a coach who can bring out even more of Lewis Ferguson's qualities.
"Ferguson makes central runs and he scores important goals from midfield, which is something you don't see so much here in Serie A.
“So, at a club like Bologna, and with the way of playing Mihajlovic wants, you can expect great things from Lewis Ferguson."
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