One player who is seldom boring for Scotland is Billy Gilmour.

The midfielder’s presence was missed at the World Cup, but after signing off from Serie A at the weekend with a goal for Napoli, he is returning ready to go.

Nevin will be making a swift exit from the Stozice Stadium if Gilmour is not starting – where he will surely be beside Lewis Ferguson.

“One of, if not the best player for us at the World Cup,” McFadden said of the Bologna captain, who will surely look to his left and find captain Andy Robertson at wing-back.

“You’re not going to go and change the midfield up. I don’t think there’s a need for a change for change’s sake.

“I think that the freshness was needed, but I’m just looking forward to seeing them actually play and see if there’s any difference in how they approach it – if they are more aggressive in a press and more dominant with possession.”

Central to that will be John McGinn.

At times, Scotland have struggled to get the Aston Villa captain in his best position in midfield – and yet he still never fails to perform.

With Scott McTominay missing from the squad as he recovers from successful minor heart surgery, Nevin suggested: “We need his explosiveness in the final third, so I would like to see him a little bit further forward.”

Koumas’ efforts have not gone unnoticed in the Wales camp either.

Nottingham Forest full-back Neco Williams knows how difficult it is to make the grade at Liverpool having left the Merseyside outfit in 2022 in search of more regular minutes.

But Williams has already seen enough from Koumas to feel confident that the future is bright as far as the youngster is concerned.

“His confidence is growing each game,” said Williams.

“The more games he plays, the older he gets, the more experience he gets, he’ll become better and better. 


“What I see with him is he’s improving all the time. He’s a work horse, he doesn’t stop working, and they’re the type of players you want in your team.”

With games against Denmark and Norway to come in the first international window of the season, Koumas will have further opportunities to stake his claim in a Wales shirt.

But as the evidence of his ability to shine for the Red Dragons continues to build, Bellamy can no doubt rest assured that he has the kind of talent he has so desperately craved at his disposal when it comes to the young forward.