Pierre Landry Kabore: Hearts’ newest international star?
Pierre Landry Kabore certainly made Burkina Faso’s qualifying round one people will never forget. The Hearts striker was brought on in the 62nd minute against Ethiopia on Tuesday and made an immediate impact scoring after just 3 minutes and ended the game with a hat trick. Kabore has only played one Premiership game this season for the Jambos playing for 45 minutes against Motherwell in their 3-3 draw back in August. The Burkina Faso international signed on a 3-year deal at Tynecastle and many Jam Tart fans have been eager to see what the future holds for him in the capital. The 24-year-old’s performance for his country demonstrates confidence, composure, and finishing instinct. Qualities that could translate well into the Scottish Premiership. Hearts have been hunting for a forward who brings newness and reliability in attack. Kabore’s international display suggests he has both. Of course, the step up to play for Derek McInnes’ men still presents its challenges of increased physicality, quicker tactical demands, and adapting to a new league. But scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup qualifier shows that he already has some of the mental and technical tools needed. If he can carry over that form and mindset from the international stage to his club performances, he has the potential to not just fit in at Hearts but to become a key piece in their push forward — someone who gives the team fresh attacking options and delivers when it counts most. Do you think he deserves a place in the Hearts squad this year?
A Look Into Aberdeen’s Youth Setup
Aberdeen have had many players who have gone on to achieve big success and big moves in recent years, down to the youth academy at Pittodrie. Players like Scott McKenna, who came up through the youth academy and became a first-team regular at Pittodrie, made a big move to Premier League outfit Nottingham Forrest. The defender had a loan move at Danish side FC Copenhagen before joining Las Palmas, where he then went on to join Dinamo Zagreb, where the defender currently plays. Calvin Ramsay was the Dons’ record fee received for a player, which sits at £6.5million went down to join English big guns, Liverpool. Unfortunately, due to injuries, the right back has failed to make it into the Liverpool squad with having loan spells with Wigan and Kilmarnock. Ryan Fraser, who started up in the Granite City, departed the North East side in 2013, making a move to Bournemouth, where he has played on many occasions in England’s elite league. The winger is currently playing in the English Championship with Southampton. Most recently, Fletcher Boyd, who spent 8 years in the Aberdeen youth system after signing from Highland League side Deveronvale, has joined Aston Villa. The teenager scored twice right at the death of the 23/24 campaign, scoring late against both Hibernian and Livingston. The youth side has won silverware already this season, defeating Highland League side, Formartine United, on penalties following a 2-2 draw, claiming the first Evening Express trophy since 2004. The U-18s won their respective league title in 2024 after a 3-2 victory over Celtic in a fixture that the win secured the success in front of a packed out Main Stand at Pittodrie. This entered the youth side into the European stage, where they were drawn with Puskas Academy of Hungary. The first leg didn’t go to plan in front of a noisy and packed Red Shed as the visitors secured a comfortable 5-1 lead to take back over to Hungary with Puskas finishing up the tie, winning 8-1 on aggregate after a 3-0 win in Hungary. Aberdeen currently have many Cooperative agreements with clubs for loans of youngsters. Cooper Mason, Joseph Teasdale and Lewis Carrol, all at Kelty Hearts who are all progressing well with the League One side. Aberdeen also have an agreement with Elgin City, with Dylan Ross, Noah McDonnell, and Jamie Mercer all joining the League Two side. The young dons have been playing in the KDM Evolution trophy but have yet to pick up any wins, but have looked promising at times. They have suffered defeats to Peterhead, Inverness, Montrose, Forfar, as well as a draw with Elgin City, most recently. The young dons are in Scottish Youth Cup action on the 24th October, where they’ll welcome Dunbar United to Cormack Park. They will also meet Huntly at Christie Park in the Aberdeenshire Shield three days before.
Where do Rangers go from here after a second rejection from Steven Gerrard?
Steven Gerrard shockingly rejected the opportunity to return to Rangers for the second time. As reported last week, talks had been progressing well between the Ibrox board and Gerrard, as he was the leading candidate but the timing wasn’t quite right again for the Liverpool legend. Both parties said that the door will be left open in the future for a possible return but the Light Blues have been left with egg on their faces. Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl met with Andrew Cavenagh and Paarag Marathe and it’s been said that he’s impressed the Gers higher ups. Kevin Muscat has emerged as a serious contender to replace Russell Martin as the Ibrox chiefs are strong admirers of the Shanghai Port head coach. Former West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is also in the running and is apparently keen on making the move to Glasgow. The Govan club are set to face Dundee United this weekend and it’s expected they’ll have their man in the dugout before the clash against Jim Goodwin’s men.
