Newcastle United winger Ryan Fraser has come in for praise following his exploits while on international duty.
After impressive substitute appearances against Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland last week, Fraser was handed a start by Scotland manager Steve Clarke for their final UEFA Nations League clash against the Ukrainians.
The 28-year-old began the contest in Krakow and played 72 minutes as the Scots secured promotion to League A.
A goalless draw against Ukraine on Tuesday night left Scotland top of Group 1 in the second tier with 13 points, and Fraser appears to have caught the eye during his time on the field.
Fraser praised for Scotland performance
Writing for the Daily Record, journalist Fraser Wilson awarded the 5 foot 4 sparkplug a 7/10 match rating and justified it with the following comment: ‘Terrorised home defence early on and thought he’d won side penalty with run and cross but fell out of game as Ukraine took control and replaced.’
Against Ukraine, the 28-year-old won 100% of his duels and completed a team-high 85% of his passes according to SofaScore. That came after he made an impact off the bench at home to Ireland last Saturday, when the 24-cap gem ranked joint-first for accurate crosses and for shots on target and was fouled once despite playing just over half an hour.
Can he carry it over to Newcastle?
The former Bournemouth ace has started each of Newcastle’s last three games on the left flank as Allan Saint-Maximin deals with injury. With the Frenchman still a doubt heading into the weekend, Fraser could well continue in the team against Fulham on Saturday.
The 28-year-old will now be hoping that he can register his first direct goal involvement in a Newcastle shirt this term when Eddie Howe’s side head to Craven Cottage at the weekend. Fraser will surely go into the match buoyed by two strong performances for Scotland, supplemented by the team’s overall success in the Nations League.
