This is a regular source of frustration among fans of clubs just outside the A-list.
Why, when a player leaves their team for another slightly higher up the ladder, does an international call-up suddenly come their way?
That may have been a question on the minds of many an Aberdeen supporter this week, when it emerged that Scotland boss Steve Clarke had included Connor Barron in his squad for September’s Nations League fixtures.
While the most impressive of Rangers’ many summer signings so far, Barron is not really doing anything under an impressed Philippe Clement that he was not already doing for The Dons.
Still, that is the nature of things in football. And, to be fair to Clarke, the Scotland boss may have been emboldened to promote Barron from the Under 21s after watching him adapt oh-so quickly to the crushing pressure of the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
A punishing environment in which far more experienced players have found themselves asphyxiated and frozen with fear.
Rangers ace Connor Barron earns Scotland chance
Barron has accumulated 13 caps for Scotland’s U21 side since his debut in 2022.
And while Scot Gemmill’s hopes of picking up valuable points against Spain and Malta in the European Championship qualifiers will not be helped by Barron’s absence, the boss of the Tartan Army juniors is pleased to see the 22-year-old’s progress rewarded with a spot amongst the seniors.
This is, after all, the role of an Under 21 boss. Hone the talents of your brightest prospects, and push them on to a next level.
To be disappointed by Barron’s absence would be like a university lecturer hoping his favourite student fails his PHD.
“It’s definitely positive,” smiles Gemmill, speaking to STV after left-back Josh Doig joined Barron in Clarke’s roster. “That’s why this team exists, to develop young players.
“It’s brilliant for the players and (Barron’s call-up) shows the players have been doing well. Not only for us but at their clubs as well. I definitely see it as a positive.
“We’re all football people and we know how it works. Young players get their opportunity whether it’s through a first-team player being injured, suspended or ill, and then it’s up to them to take the opportunity.
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity for them to be involved, and now they have to go and confirm their talent. We think they’ve got great potential and now they have to go and take their opportunity if they get it.”
Ryan Jack has been impressed by his Ibrox successor
Inheriting the number eight shirt from former Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack, Barron has done a passable impression of the recently-departed Rangers enforcer in his first few weeks in blue.
He has started all but one of the club’s seven games in all competitions, displaying the tigerish aggression and the stylish distribution that – according to the man himself – makes him so well suited to Clement’s gameplan.
“He’s got to just focus on he’s at a huge club and he’s going to have a huge task (establishing himself),” Jack himself told The Warm Up of Barron in mid-August. “He’s come in and actually done really well his first couple of games.
“I look forward to seeing him as the season goes on. He’s done well.”
Scotland face Poland on Thursday before travelling to Portugal three days later.
