Rangers and Celtic told they'd be daft not to sign Premiership standout as transfer advice dished out
The Motherwell midfielder took the league by storm last season
Rangers and Celtic would be ‘stupid’ not to pursue Motherwell star man Elijah Just in the summer, according to pundit Chris Sutton.
The 26-year old has been a revelation at Fir Park in his debut season in the Scottish Premiership, with 14 goal contributions across the campaign. In turn, both sides of the Old Firm have expressed an interest, although with Just on international duty with New Zealand at the World Cup over the summer, he insists his full focus is on that at the moment, rather than any transfer gossip.
Having previously worked with ex-Well boss Jens Berthel Askou at his old side Horsens, Just was a relative unknown when his old mentor brought him over from Denmark. Nearly a year on, he’s been nominated for the Premiership Player of the Year award and won the same accolade at Motherwell’s own awards night. Former Celtic and Chelsea striker Sutton thinks the Old Firm sides would be foolish to ignore him.
Old Firm ‘stupid’ not to pursue Just
Speaking alongside ex Rangers man Kris Boyd on the Warm Up, Sutton made a bold statement regarding Celtic, Rangers and Just. He said: “Just is just a revelation. I think he is such an intelligent footballer. He can’t be at Motherwell next season. If Celtic or Rangers don’t touch him, then they are stupid.”
Just, along with Tawanda Maswanhise and Lawrence Shankland, was pipped to the league’s PFA Player of the Year award by Hearts revelation Claudio Braga, however, Boyd believes Motherwell’s resident Kiwi could’ve easily won it himself. He added: “You look at Elijah Just, and people like that. Then they started to build, and build (Motherwell).
“Then you have seen someone, you have got to say, there has been a lot of chat about Player of the Year, but I think his performances deserve to be right up there, in terms of nominees. The way he receives the ball. The way he takes people on. It’s something we don’t really see anymore. The way he glides past people. He can go with both feet. Predominantly more left-footed. I think he has been an outstanding signing for Motherwell.”
Just reflects on breakout Scottish campaign
Speaking at the Player of the Year awards last month, Just said: “I just think there are so many players in the league that have so much quality. It's really, really special, and I'm feeling pretty humbled by everything. When I signed for Motherwell I was at a stage in my career where I'd been mostly playing in the second leagues around Europe.
“And I hadn't really achieved anything that I wanted to achieve when I left New Zealand. So when I had the opportunity to come, I knew that would be a step up and a huge test for me. And then I was lucky enough to be welcomed in with a good group of players.
“Obviously, I'd worked for the gaffer before, but the rest of the coaching staff also. It just helped me to be myself. The way we play has been pretty well suited to how I like to play. And yeah, I think it's just been such a good team effort. I'm so pleased that I've been able to be a part of it and help the team out as best I could."