Lewis Ferguson has gone from strength to strength since leaving Aberdeen for Serie A less than two year's ago. 

Now captain of Italian side Bologna, the 24-year-old’s admirers are growing by the week and he’s become manager Thiago Motta’s trusted voice in the dressing room.

Discussing how the new-found responsibility came about, Ferguson told Sky Italy: “He (Motta) did it in front of everyone, I wasn’t expecting it at all. It was when we were playing Empoli, after the warm-up he got everyone together, did the team talk and said: ‘Lewis will be the captain today’. I enjoy this role, I like the responsibility and being a leader. The armband is special for me.”

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Ferguson has contributed with six goals and provided a further four assists from his 29 appearances this season, which has caught the eye of Europe's top club's. It's thought Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Inter and Lazio are all monitoring his rapid progress. While, it would likely take over £20million to prize him away from Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

Asked whether he would leave Champions League chasing Bologna for pastures new this summer, he replied: “I think, honestly, that you always have to be open-minded about everything in life. I don't think about it too much, not least because when I was in Scotland at Aberdeen I was already used to being approached by other clubs, whether they were in England or Scotland.

"So it's a situation that has become familiar to me, that I've learned to manage. I have to be open to all the opportunities that can come my way, clearly, like any footballer. It's part of the job to be open to change, but for me the only thing that matters now is the present.”

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The former Aberdeen and Hamilton Academical midfielder is among Steve Clarke's 25-man squad to face The Netherlands and Northern Ireland later this month. The international friendly double-header provides the perfect opportunity to impress ahead of Euro 2024 getting underway in June - a tournament where Ferguson reckons Scotland can do something special. 

“I think being involved in this experience is a wonderful feeling," he smiled. "I've personally only seen Scotland in a major tournament once in my life, at Euro 2020. I think this Scotland team is one of the strongest ever and to be part of it is beautiful.

"The whole country is excited because our recent results have exceeded expectations. So we're going to go there to do something special.”