Scotland midfielder Stuart Armstrong admits he is looking forward to linking up with Ryan Gauld on the pitch again – ten years after being team-mates at Dundee United.
Armstrong has been reunited with Vancouver Whitecaps skipper Gauld after signing a two-year deal with the MLS outfit on Tuesday following his summer exit from Southampton.
But with Gauld in the international squad for the Poland and Portugal UEFA Nations League double header, the 32-year-old will have to wait to see him face-to-face.
The pair lined up alongside each other at Tannadice during Gauld’s exciting breakthrough before he sealed his high-profile move to Sporting Lisbon in 2014.
‘Brightest star’
And former Celtic midfielder Armstrong is thrilled their paths have crossed again.
He said: “When Ryan first came into Dundee United he was so young, I was a little bit older than him, maybe three or four years.
“There was a group of really young guys who he was with.
“I always remember him being quite quiet but obviously on the pitch he was unbelievable, the brightest star at that time in the Scottish league.
“At that time he left for Sporting Lisbon relatively quickly so our time together was that short year.
“You keep in touch, sometimes see each other with Scotland but as time goes on and you’re at different clubs you drift apart.
“I’m looking forward to reconnecting with him, I’m sure he is a little bit louder these days.”
Family life
Armstrong has revealed he first caught wind of Vancouver’s interest through Gauld, while he also sounded out former team-mate Gary Mackay-Steven about the MLS.
He said: “The first awareness I had of Vancouver’s interest was from Gauldy.
“A close friend, who I was with at Celtic and Dundee United, was Gary Mackay-Steven, who played for New York City.
“I called him up recently and grilled him about the MLS and asked him a million questions, just to get an idea of the league.
“It’s a big change in terms of my life and my family and being far away from grandparents and things like that.”
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