AMID the most recent bout of agonising over the future direction of the Scotland national team, there hasn’t been a mention of a certain gentleman in Verona.

Liam Henderson, the first Scot to grace Serie A for 33 years, takes on AC Milan in the colours of Hellas Verona today and Joe Jordan for one reckons the 23-year-old is a bona fide Scotland international of the future.

A veteran of both Milan and Verona from the three happy years he spent in Italy during the 1980s, Jordan is a keen observer of the Italian scene as part of Premier Sports’ punditry unit and reckons that Henderson will only thrive out there.

“Without a doubt, Liam Henderson is a future Scotland international,” said Jordan. “My daughter lives in Milan so that gives me a reason to go over and I also go up to Verona because I have friends there.

“I’ve been out to seen him play,” added the 67-year-old, ahead of a match which Verona go into in seventh, some six spots ahead of their illustrious visitors, now under the charge of Marco Giampolo and not Jordan’s one-time adversary Rino Gattuso. “I went a couple of times last year and the move has worked out well for him.

“Verona is a beautiful city – the most beautiful city I have ever seen - and I think he is living on the lake in Peschiera del Garda.

“You don’t need to worry about Liam, he will be enjoying himself. He’s got it all out there and it’s a good club and he’s started well.

“But it won’t be easy for them this season. It will be a big learning curve for Liam. He’s been at Bari and he’s got a coach that believes in him and the experience of getting promotion under pressure last season will stand him in good stead.

“Now he’s a Serie A player it is fantastic. It doesn’t happen as often as it did in my day but if you go there and face the challenge head on you will grow up quickly.

“It says a lot about his technique and his character that thrived in Italy and he is now a Serie A player. But all the games will be difficult and they will need to be on their toes each week. Survival will be seen as success for them this season.”

Like Jordan, who loved his time in Italy, Henderson is already winning over his team-mates. Not only has he thrown himself into learning the language, the 67-year-old knows that the canny Italians wouldn’t have given him another club if he hadn’t carved out a reputation as a good professional. While the likes of Oli Burke and Jack Harper will also feature in Spanish football this season, he only wishes more Scots would be prepared to broaden their horizons to develop their language game. The son of former Falkirk player Nicky, Liam's younger brother Ewan is currently on-loan at Ross County from Celtic.

“I still speak the language now,” said Jordan. “But it was not easy for me to learn.

“Some people pick it straight up but I persevered and I still speak Italian when I go back to see my friends in Verona.

“It’s part of my life, now. But it’s good to see Liam speaking the language. They will appreciate that. He’s going about it the right way – but the most important is the performances on the pitch.

“Once they see the individual and his technique and his commitment to learning the language it won’t be a problem,” he added. “In Italy you have to be a good professional first and foremost but from speaking to the lad Liam, it’s clear he is a good, driven pro. If he had gone to Bari and he was not a good pro he would not have got a second club in Italy.

“The challenge he has taken on by going to Italy will definitely develop his game. There are talented players out there but the difficulty for them – especially in England - is getting game time. Unless you are playing regularly and under pressure and handling it I can’t see how you can improve as a player. Liam has definitely taken the right route. It’s not an easy route but it’s the right one.

“You see players from the big clubs in England going to German clubs now. The German clubs see a chance to get a player with great ability and giving him the chance to express himself and prove he’s an international player. That’s instead of waiting on the fringes of one of the top English club sides and not progressing.

“For the lad Henderson to go to Italy, it suggests he will have a career to look back on. He will have a sense of achievement but there’s a lot of players at big English clubs who won’t be stretched and will look back on their careers in disappointment.”

As for Jordan’s own memories, what got lost most in translation was having to forego his traditional pre-match meal of beans for pasta.

‘If I hadn’t taken the chance to play there I would have looked back with certain regrets,” said Jordan. “Earlier in my career I had the chance to go to Bayern Munich when I was at Leeds but it was denied to me because they still held my registration.

“When I did go to Italy, I was the only foreign player in the dressing room and there was pressure. But I would not have missed it for the world.

“They looked after me and I just went with the flow. When it came to the pre match meal of pasta and risotto I didn’t ask for beans. I went along with the pasta and I went along with the pre-match preparations for the games, which were all new to me as well. But I was well looked after so the only problems I had to deal with were on the field of play. Between signing and Christmas I had three managers. The first wanted to sign me but then he had gone, then there was another manager then another. But that was the culture of Italian football.”

***Premier Sports will screen up to six live Serie A matches each week. See premiersports.com for details of a Special Serie A offer.”