Elliot Watt hopes that competing against top stars like Mohamed Salah and N'Golo Kante can help him force his way into Sebastien Pocognoli's new-look Scotland squad. In a wide-ranging Record Sport 'In Conversation' interview, the midfielder speaks about his big-money move to Turkey, his international ambitions, his success at Motherwell and being a Rangers signing target.
Move to Turkey
The 26-year-old made a seven-figure fee switch from Motherwell to Samsunspor last month. Watt hopes competing against top clubs and players in the Super Lig can help put him on the radar of the newly-appointed national coach. He has played for Scotland up to Under-21 level and is keen to take that next step and become a full international.
Samsunspor play Fenerbahce at home this week and the midfielder could be up directly against Kante and French international Matteo Guendouzi. Watt, speaking about his summer move, said: "Some people might look it and think you are so far away from the Scottish game that you are out of sight and kind of forgotten about. In my head, it was 'What is the best scenario for me?'. And that is competing against the elite of football. You look at the players who are at Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Trabzonspor, who have Salah and Fabino."
International ambitions
"You can also look at some of the signings other clubs have made when you see (Mohamed) Diomonde and (Alexandros) Kyziridis coming out here. So the quality of player out here is really high. I could be up against Kante and Guendouzi. If I can do it at this level against these types of players, hopefully, it will put me in line for a Scotland call-up because they can see I am doing it against such a high-profile opposition."
Watt was tipped for a Scotland cap last season after a stellar campaign under Jens Berthel Askou at Motherwell, but he never got the call from Steve Clarke ahead of the World Cup. He knows that all he can do is produce regularly at Samsunspor and hope that it will be enough for the new Belgian boss to call him up. He candidly admitted: "It is not as if I felt I deserved to be in the squad because these players they have had much better careers than me at the time, were playing at a much better clubs and had done it for Steve Clarke previously. I felt I was capable of taking that step up to the Scotland national team. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, not that I was expecting it to happen, when you are going to the World Cup and the world's biggest stage."
Club ambitions and settling in
Watt had a string of offers in the summer, including contact from Rangers. He had options in England, Europe and Major League Soccer but was sold on Samsunspor. "I was quite fortunate in that aspect," the ex-St Johnstone player stated. "There were a few clubs interested and after making my decision I have no regrets. The club made their ambitions really clear to me. They played in the Conference League last year and got to the last 16. They performed well and were unlucky not to progress."
"They just missed out on qualifying for Europe last season and the president made it very clear those were the ambitions of the club. They want to be competing in Europe regularly. They go about things differently to most Turkish clubs where they don't make star signings. They sign younger players, develop them and potentially sell them on for fees in the future. They are a forward-thinking club and do things differently to other teams in Turkey. I thought it was the perfect fit for me."
Watt also sought counsel from others who had differing experiences in Turkey from Barry Douglas to Stevie Mallan to get a more complete picture of what to expect. He confirmed: "I was a bit apprehensive before the move. You can try and speak to as many people as you want and put yourself and family as much at ease as you can, but there are always a little nerves when you move, as to what to expect. Is it going to go well and will you settle? Honestly, since I have been here we have all been taken aback at how amazing the club is, how good the city is and how quickly we have settled. There hasn't been a moment where we haven't enjoyed it. It has been amazing so far and long may that continue."
Debut and atmosphere
Watt - who is currently fighting a four-match ban from the Scottish Football Association for criticising VAR for the penalty given against Motherwell for Celtic last season - missed the first Super Lig game due to suspension but made his debut in the 2-0 win over Rizespor at the weekend. He admitted the atmosphere at the games is crazy and will be cranked up another level when Fenerbahce comes to town this weekend.
The playmaker claimed: "It has been amazing. I missed the first game of the season because of the red card against Hibs. It is completely different. There was 15,000 fans at Goztepe but it felt like there was 60,000. It was deafening and I could hardly hear my family who were sitting next to me. I spoke to some of the guys at the club and they said wait until we play Fenerbahce at home this weekend, when it is full with 33,000 fans, then you will really experience what it is like. I can't wait for it."
