BLACKBURN Rovers' Academy starlet Paul Gallagher has been called into the Scotland Under 21 squad for friday's crucial European qualifier against Germany.

The 18-year-old striker received his first ever Under 21 call up at the weekend after impressing scouts with some top performances for Rovers' young guns last season.

The Glasgow-born youngster linked up with Rainer Bonhof's squad on the West Coast of Scotland yesterday and he's in line for a place on the subs bench for the match against the Germans at Kilmarnock later in the week.

"Having established Paul has Scottish credentials, we decided to call him up," said a spokesman for the Scottish FA.

"He wasn't in the original squad but then a number of players dropped out so we decided this was a great chance for Paul to show us what he can do."

The Glasgow-born teenager, who scored over 30 goals for Rovers at various levels last term, is the youngest player to be called into Bonhof's squad for Friday's game which is due to be screened live on Sky.

Meanwhile, Rovers midfielder Craig Hignett has been linked with a move to newly-promoted Leicester City.

Foxes boss Micky Adams is reported to be interested in a swoop for the former Barnsley man, who played under Leicester's director of football, Dave Bassett, at Oakwell.