Curtis will have 'big clubs circling with good World Cup'
· Yahoo Sports
A good World Cup for Scotland winger Findlay Curtis would have "big clubs circling", according to Kevin Thomson, who was his coach at Rangers from the age of 12.
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The 19-year-old burst into Steve Clarke's squad for the finals after a blistering end to the season on loan to Kilmarnock - and then by scoring in Saturday's 4-1 friendly win over Curacao.
Thomson admits that Curtis was "probably a wee bit of a bronze-silver medal mentality as a young Rangers player" and his progress shows what you can achieve through hard work and dedication.
"Great boy," the former Rangers and Scotland midfielder told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "Was never probably one that was at the top of the group. Never really one of the diamonds as such, but a humble, real hard-working lad.
"A lot of people probably thought he's maybe not going to go to Kilmarnock, he's maybe not going to play, but he was brave enough to go out on loan and take his chance.
"He's probably propelled himself up the ladder to the degree where, if he's not going to start, he'll certainly be one of the ones, when Steve Clark looks over his shoulder, he's not there just filling up the numbers now."
Thomson pondered whether Curtis might not add to his six starts so far for Rangers after he returns from the United States.
"Obviously I want to see him do really well for Rangers - and he certainly wouldn't be moving unless it was for big bucks - but if he has a good World Cup, it wouldn't surprise me if the big clubs start circling," he added.
"He's a breath of fresh air. I think sometimes a lot of young players, when they're at the big clubs, get a bit of comfort in staying there, but Finn's been brave enough to go and play.
"An unbelievable kid to work with, a coach's dream. And he's now reaping the rewards of that."