By Anthony Evans

Aberdeen striker Bruce Anderson’s impressive form has earned him a call up to the Scotland u20s side for their upcoming friendly against Turkey in Murcia, Spain this weekend.

Anderson is one of three Dons players to be picked in Scott Gemmill’s 18 man squad, with midfielder Lewis Ferguson and forward Connor McLennan also making the cut.

The call up comes after the Aberdeenshire-born striker recently helped his team to a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

With the visitors trailing 1-0, he was brought on for James Wilson with 68 minutes on the clock, and it took just five minutes for the youngster to make his mark.

Anderson’s clever finish against Killie was his second goal of the season, following his stoppage time equaliser on his debut for his boyhood club, against bitter rivals Rangers on the opening day of the season in August.

Ryan Crombie, the editor of the Aberdeen fanzine Red Point of View, has spoken about the local boy’s impact since breaking into the first team this season.

He said: “Well he’s managed to grab two very important goals for the club in his limited game time. It’s excellent to see someone so young show the tenacity and desire he does to take his chance. He has been offering something different to what Aberdeen have up there at the minute. He’s pacey and appears to have that goal-scoring instinct in the box.”

Crombie now believes that the 20 year old early performances in a red shirt have earned him the right to be in the Dons XI from the start.

“He deserves his chance to prove what he’s all about in the first team. I believe he has shown a lot more ability than Aberdeen’s other strikers in much fewer minutes and his performances with the u20s point towards his ability. A partnership of Wilson and Anderson would be interesting to see.”

However, Red Army fans are all too familiar with the fact that some of their most exciting youth prospects have been prized away from the club by teams in England down south.

The likes of Chris Maguire, Fraser Fyvie and Jack Grimmer have not quite made the impact that their early potential at Pittodrie had promised.  Fyvie now plays for Dundee United in the Scottish Championship whilst Maguire and Grimmer both ply their trade in England’s third tier.

The obvious exception is Ryan Fraser who over time has established himself as one of Bournemouth’s best players in one of the most prestigious leagues in the world.

But the Red Point of View’s editor isn’t too worried about losing any of their young starlets, including Bruce Anderson, anytime soon.

“I think Aberdeen have their house in order financially and are in no need to sell to the first bidder. Look at the Scott McKenna situation for example, the Dons turning down £7 million from a top Championship club over the border is indicative of how strong Aberdeen are off the field.”

Crombie also sees no reason why the Banff-born forward can’t go on to become one of the best strikers in this country, both for his club and for Scotland.

“He’s beginning to pave his way in the U21 squad and if he manages to carry on his form from the Aberdeen youth side into that then he’s going to make a name for himself. It’s all about taking your opportunity when it is presented to yourself and Anderson has shown he is more than capable of that so there’s no reason why he can’t be one to watch for the national team in the future.”

With a eye for goal and a reputation that is on the way up, Bruce Anderson could be a name that will be more familiar to football fans in Scotland in the not too distant future.