{"id":903429,"date":"2026-04-18T20:36:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/903429\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T20:36:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:36:04","slug":"6-scotland-world-cup-stars-and-hopefuls-out-of-contract-this-summer-including-reborn-goal-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/903429\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Scotland World Cup stars and hopefuls out of contract this summer including reborn goal machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re Scottish, operating at a high level and hovering on the fringes of the national team, the focus between now and the end of the season is simple – book your place on that plane to the USA.<\/p>\n

Whether that’s by driving your club towards silverware, battling to beat the drop or simply maintaining consistency, every minute counts. Opportunities to feature on football\u2019s biggest stage<\/a> don\u2019t come around often for Scotland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But for some of Steve Clarke\u2019s <\/a>regulars and World Cup<\/a> hopefuls, that dream is tinged with uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Six players who could be involved this summer could well be on the lookout for new clubs over the coming weeks as their deals wind down. Here, Record Sport <\/strong>takes a closer look at their situations.<\/p>\n

Andy Robertson<\/p>\n

The Scotland skipper will pull down the curtain on a remarkable nine years at Liverpool this summer.<\/p>\n

The two-time Premier League winner has won it all at Anfield, counting the 2018\/19 Champions League among his nine major honours at Anfield.<\/p>\n

Arguably the greatest left-back in EPL history, Robertson announced earlier this month that he’d be moving on after falling out of favour under Arne Slot.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It’s understood Robbo has a verbal agreement to join Spurs – if the North Londoners avoid relegation.<\/p>\n

The lifelong Celtic fan has also been linked with an emotional return to Parkhead – 16 years after being released as a kid.<\/p>\n

Jack Hendry<\/p>\n

It’s believed the 37-times capped defender is poised to leave Al-Ettifaq this summer after three seasons in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

The ex-Celtic and Dundee man – brought to Saudi by Steven Gerrard – will become a free agent and could be tempted back to Europe.<\/p>\n

Hendry is unlikely to be short of offers and can perhaps afford to be picky after making serious money during his stint in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Craig Gordon<\/p>\n

Veteran keeper Gordon will become the second-oldest man to play at a World Cup if he makes an appearance for Scotland this summer.<\/p>\n

The 43-year-old has been out of action with a serious shoulder injury for the past three months but is expected to recover in time for the showpiece tournament.<\/p>\n

Gordon will almost certainly be guaranteed a seat on the plane to the USA if he can prove his fitness. But will it be a career swansong?<\/p>\n

The shotstopper is out of contract this summer and last played for the title-chasing Jambos in a 2-2 draw with Celtic at Tynecastle on January 25.<\/p>\n

Angus Gunn<\/p>\n

Gunn may rue the decision to leave Norwich City last summer.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old penned a one-year deal with Nottingham Forest but has featured just once for the Premier League side.<\/p>\n

Had he been playing regular football, the son of ex-Scotland international Bryan would probably heading to the World Cup as No1.<\/p>\n

He could yet be handed the gloves if Gordon suffers a setback in his recovery.<\/p>\n

And that could help put him in the shop window as he looks set to leave the City Ground on a free transfer.<\/p>\n

Liam Kelly<\/p>\n

Back-up Rangers shotstopper Kelly also faces an uncertain future, although it’s believed Danny Rohl is keen to tie him down on a new deal.<\/p>\n

The Scotland squad man has been restricted to just three club appearances this term and has interest from clubs in Europe and America.<\/p>\n

However, the 30-year-old is seen as an important character at Ibrox, is home-grown and fits the club\u2019s academy-trained criteria.<\/p>\n

Ross Stewart<\/p>\n

Stewart missed out on a recall for the recent double-header against Japan and Ivory Coast – a decision that puzzled the Tartan Army.<\/p>\n

The striker has rediscovered his scoring touch with Southampton after a difficult year with injury.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: Southampton FC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Stewart, 29, has netted five times in his last 10 outings – including FA Cup goals against Arsenal and Fulham.<\/p>\n

With Steve Clarke lacking a proven goalscorer, Stewart could yet force himself back into contention if he stays fit – and continues his prolific spell.<\/p>\n

His St Mary’s deal expires at the end of the season, although Saints have the option of a 12-month extension.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you’re Scottish, operating at a high level and hovering on the fringes of the national team, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5009],"tags":[33159,748,1614,72806,4884,254301,10748,839,113916,712,13315,70572,1638,7081,70571,10107,16,15,1514],"class_list":["post-903429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scotland","tag-andy-robertson","tag-britain","tag-champions-league","tag-craig-gordon","tag-great-britain","tag-jack-hendry","tag-liam-kelly","tag-middle-east","tag-ross-stewart","tag-scotland","tag-scotland-football-team","tag-scotland-u19s-football-team","tag-scottish-premiership","tag-scottish-professional-football-league","tag-steve-clarke","tag-transfer-talk","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-world-cup"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116427632654950350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}