Luke Graham shows benefits of first-team football for youngsters, says Scotland under 21 boss Tony Docherty

New Scotland Under-21 boss Tony Docherty believes Luke Graham personifies the benefits of first-team football for young players.

The 22-year-old Stoke centre-back was named in Sebastien Pocognoli’s first squad as Scotland boss for the upcoming Nations League games against Slovenia, Switzerland and North Macedonia.

Before moving from Dundee to the Potters in the summer, Graham was on the bench for Scotland’s friendly against Curacao at Barclays Hampden in May after being invited to train with Steve Clarke’s squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup finals.

Amid a general conversation in Scottish football about the best way to develop young players, Docherty, who named his first squad for the upcoming Under-21 European Championship qualifying double-header at home to Azerbaijan and away to Bulgaria, spoke positively about Graham getting minutes at first-team level with loan moves when he was under his tutelage at Dens Park.

He said: “I gave Luke his (league) debut for Dundee in a derby against Dundee United and then we decided together for him to go and get minutes at Falkirk.

“He’s a great example and now you see he’s plying his trade down in Championship and he’s involved in the A squad.

“It’s a really easy team-talk almost, to say to the players, that there is a pathway there.

“Get the minutes, get the games under the belt, make sure you’re performing at a level and, if you are, you’ll get noticed and you’ll represent your country in whatever squad.

“Luke had really good experiences early on in his loans, I think he was at Albion Rovers and Montrose and I’ve seen a maturity in his play.

“And that only comes from the experience of playing against men in competitive leagues.

“He’s got a really good profile and he’s very strong aerially.

“I remember when I took him away on my first pre-season trip, where we played against Lech Poznan, and it was it was really, really evident how good he was in both boxes. But on top of that, his ability to play out, he’s very comfortable in possession.

“And I’ve watched his previous two games with Stoke City – he’s just getting better and better. Everything about his game is improving.

“So he had a base, he was a good defender. I think he’s adding to that now in terms of his distribution, stepping in as a centre-half, and I think he’s just becoming more confident and more mature, and hence the reason he’s been called up.”