The SFA ’ s new performance director , Brian McClair is being paid generously for his expertise . But many would have paid a penny for his thoughts on Tuesday night . The moment he read the quotes of his colleague Ricky Sbragia on young Jack Harper . To the uninitiated , Harper is Scottish football ’ s new wonderkid . Islam Feruz without the attitude . Mark Wotte – McClair ’ s predecessor – dubbed the Real Madrid youth player Scotland ’ s answer to Robin van Persie . Real Madrid youngster Jack Harper in action against Ludogorets in the UEFA Youth League match . Scotland Under-19s manager Ricky Sbragia has left Harper out of his squad for the upcoming games . He did so because , by all accounts , Harper does not fit the typical Scottish mould . He is not quite a No 9 , not entirely a No 10 . He is a creative type who scores goals under the watchful eye of Real coach Zinedine Zidane . So far this season he has scored three goals for Real in the UEFA Youth League and is midway through a five-year deal signed in 2012 . Born in Fuengirola , near Malaga , the 18-year-old is Spanish . And Spain ’ s Under-19 coach Luis de la Fuente has used his birth certificate to try to recruit him . Marvellously , however , Harper does not want to play for Spain . His parents are from Barrhead . He wants to play for Scotland . Incredibly , Scotland seems less keen on him . Sbragia ’ s Under-19 squad are currently preparing for UEFA European Championships elite round with games against Austria , Italy and Croatia this week . And Harper , dubbed a ‘ luxury ’ player , is nowhere to be found . In a throwback to the old school thinking which preceded the SFA ’ s high-profile 2020 performance strategy , Sbragia explains his absence by saying : ‘ Our concentration is on the opening game with Austria and we ’ ve deliberately got more height in our squad . That ’ s one of the reasons why Jack isn ’ t in . Highly rated forward Harper has already been linked with moves to Manchester United and Liverpool . ‘ The last time he was with us , he did okay , but I wanted a little more impact . At Real Madrid , he can float all over the place . But with us , he has to be more disciplined . ‘ It ’ s purely tactical and there certainly hasn ’ t been a lack of enthusiasm from Jack about playing for Scotland. ’ There might be now , of course . Most of all when Harper learns that young Oliver McBurnie , an 18-year-old striker who plays for Bradford City is in the squad . Currently McBurnie , six foot two in his stocking soles , is on loan at Chester City – a non-league club in the English Conference Premier . Within the SFA , there is a recognition of how damaging and old-fashioned all this looks . Regarded as a progressive , forward thinking and intelligent coach within the corridors of Hampden , Sbragia ’ s quotes on Harper hint at something else . For McClair , a cerebral former Manchester United colleague of Sbragia ’ s , the Harper conundrum represents an early test of his diplomatic skills . Scotland boss Gordon Strachan – no giant himself – washed his hands of the matter on Tuesday , saying : ‘ I ’ m not involved in that at all . I let the other guys get on with it . I ’ ve no idea if it ’ s physical or whatever. ’ Harper is currently midway through a five-year deal with Real Madrid and is tipped to have a big future . Pointing out that most of the country has never seen Harper play , Strachan added : ‘ I ’ ve seen a few people at Chelsea who never get a game anywhere . They go on loan somewhere and disappear into no man ’ s land. ’ That was the fate of Feruz – the ‘ wonderkid ’ who turned his back on Scotland and was last heard of having a loan deal at Blackpool cancelled . Before leaving his post last October , Wotte urged Scottish youth football to rid itself of the ‘ win at all costs ’ mentality and develop skills . An appeal which fell on deaf ears with at least one SFA colleague . ‘ We have to match these teams physically , ’ said Sbragia of the challenge facing his under-19 side . ‘ The more I ’ m seeing games , the more I see things going back to physicality and the height factor. ’ The irony , of course , is that Harper is no midget . He is six foot tall . Taller than Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy , the Glasgow-born Everton stars allowed to slip through the SFA ’ s fingers and play for the Republic of Ireland instead . The worry is that when the SFA host European Championship games at Hampden in 2020 , the nation will finally get the chance to see the prodigious talent of Jack Harper . In the red shirt of Spain .
Jack Harper has been left out of the Scotland Under 19s squad for the upcoming games by manager Ricky Sbragia . Sbragia ’ s Under-19 squad are currently preparing for UEFA Scottish Championships elite round . Harper has scored three goals for Real in the UEFA Youth League .