Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan has revealed there are "four or five" players in Scotland who are interesting him ahead of the summer transfer window.

Keegan, who has been linked with a move for in-form Celtic winger Aiden McGeady, was at Ibrox last Thursday to watch Rangers beat Werder Bremen 2-0 in the UEFA Cup.

The former England manager spent a lot of time north of the border running his Soccer Circus business before returning to Tyneside in January and believes the Scottish game is improving.

But he thinks he would have competition for any signing bids.

"I think you will see more and more Premier League managers looking at Scotland because there is some talent here," Keegan said.

"I don't mean this disrespectfully but probably, for the last six or seven years, that wasn't always the case.

"We are like any other club, we will look for talent wherever we think it can improve us. Whether it be Scotland, Lithuania, Russia, that's what you do.

"At the moment I think Scotland has got four or five players. (Alan) Hutton has just gone down to Spurs from Rangers and I think there are others here, definitely.

"I think they will interest everybody to be honest, not just me."

Keegan has been well placed to see the resurgence in Scottish talent in his football skills attraction at Braehead, near Glasgow.

With Newcastle not playing until next Monday, when they travel to Birmingham on Premier League duty, Keegan took time out to launch an initiative providing exercise and nutrition for schoolchildren.

He said: "There's definitely a lot of talent coming through. Most of it is already known about.

"We have had Celtic Under-19s and Under-14s here, we have had Dundee United's youngsters here. So there is already some fantastic young players coming through. We saw a lot of good girl players as well.

"I think there is a resurgence in Scotland, from what I am seeing, of kids who want to play.

"What they have got to make sure is those kids who are playing at 12, 13, 14, don't fall by the wayside when they get to 15, 16.

"I think that's what happens a lot, not just in Scotland, but the north of England.

"We have got to address that because those two or three years, you can't just go missing from football and just pick it back up again, because they are vital years.

"I guess a lot of guys want to go and watch Rangers and Celtic and teams like that rather than play and they have got to try to do both."

The former Liverpool striker spent more than a decade developing the skills centre after fearing that children were losing out on opportunities to develop their game.

"It's much more difficult now," he said. "When I was a youngster the streets were a safe place to go almost throughout the country, I would say. It's not the case now.

"We had better facilities in those days. You have got to look at would you want your kid to go out in the street at night, so you have to look at the alternatives, and we offer a safe environment."

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