Stevie May has been rewarded for his impressive early season form with St Johnstone with a call-up to the Scotland Under-21 squad for next week’s clash with England.
May has scored twice already against Rosenborg and Hearts after returning to Perth from successful loan spells at Alloa and Hamilton. Saints boss Tommy Wright is thrilled for his young striker.
He said: “I’m absolutely delighted for Stevie. It’s well deserved. He’s been in really good form for us so far.
“It’s great for Stevie to get this call-up and it’s great for the club that one of our players has got this recognition.”
Dundee United’s Stuart Armstrong is also in the squad for the Tuesday night game at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane, as is Chelsea’s Islam Feruz.
Scotland Under-21 manager Billy Stark says he simply could not ignore May any longer. Fifty goals in just 73 games as a professional have earned the 20-year-old frontman his place.
During his six-month spell with the then Third Division Wasps, he struck 19 goals. He then added another 26 in the First Division for Accies.
But it has been strikes against Rosenborg and Hearts that convinced Stark he cannot afford to leave May on the sidelines any longer.
He said: “I’ve been watching Stevie for a number of years as I do with all the young ones. His form and goalscoring right now is too good to ignore.
“He is confident and is born in 1992, so is one of the more experienced ones in the group. Put all those things together and that is a nice mix for this game.
“His goalscoring record at Hamilton and Alloa was exceptional. At Hamilton, he was playing a couple of leagues up from Alloa and now he is in the top division and we’re talking about whether he can keep scoring.”
The Scots’ under-21 meeting with a side to be managed by Roy Hodgson will act as the appetiser to the full serving being dished up by the senior sides 24 hours later at Wembley.