Lewis Ferguson doesn’t have to think twice. 

Ask him what he misses most about Scotland, other than his family and friends, and his reply is as sharp as his passing.

“Irn-Bru and square sausage,” he smiles.

“Every time my family comes over, I tell them to buy some bottles in the airport. 

“[Bologna centre-back] Sam [Beukema] likes a bottle of Irn-Bru. So every time I go back to Scotland or every time my family is coming over, I get an extra bottle for him.”

Ferguson may have a taste for Scottish culinary staples but he is not longing to board the first flight back to Glasgow.

“It’s family and friends that you miss the most,” he tells Destination Calcio during an interview at Bologna’s Casteldebole training ground. 

“In terms of living back home, no, I don’t miss too much. Sometimes when I’m in Scotland and it’s raining and cold I’m looking forward to coming back here, coming back home. 

“But I love Scotland. It’s where I grew up, it’s where I’m from. I’m so proud of that.”

Hearing Ferguson refer to Bologna as his home feels natural, for he looks completely at ease in Italy.

The 25-year-old has indeed put down roots in the capital of Emilia-Romagna since joining the Rossoblu from Aberdeen for a €2million (£1.7m) fee in the summer of 2022. His daughter was born in Bologna two years ago.

“I’ve settled well,” he explains. “As soon as I came here, I felt comfortable, I felt at home. It’s a beautiful place to live. It’s good weather, good food, nice people. 

“The city is beautiful. The culture is nice and it’s a relaxed lifestyle.”

Ferguson did not grow up watching Serie A every week but remembers tuning in for big games on TV. So swapping Scotland for Italy never seemed a big leap for a player who had always wanted to test himself in one of Europe’s biggest leagues.

“I always thought about playing abroad when I was growing up and when the opportunity came, it was too good to turn down,” he says. “It looks like a great decision now.”

Fond as Ferguson is of Irn-Bru and square sausage, settling in Bologna was helped by the city’s culinary offerings, which are extraordinarily good even by Italy’s lofty standards.

“I just knew the food in Italy was good,” he says. “Then when I arrived here, I quickly found out that Bologna is one of the best. It’s beautiful. I’ve been here two-and-a-half years and never had a bad meal.”

Bologna, for their part, can’t complain. In less than three years Ferguson has become a mainstay of the Rossoblu, first under Thiago Motta and now Vincenzo Italiano.

Named club captain in October 2023, he registered six goals and four assists in 31 league appearances last season as they finished fifth in Serie A and secured Champions League qualification for the first time.

But for Ferguson there was a bitter aftertaste to the celebrations as he ruptured his ACL against Monza in mid-April. He was forced to miss the Euros and watched on TV as Scotland crashed out in the group stage.

“That was difficult to get over,” he reflects. “After I got the news of the injury, my first thought was, ‘I’m going to miss the Euros with Scotland’, which was disappointing because it was always in the back of my head throughout the season. 

“We were having a great season here but it was always in the back of my head. It was all about the Euros. I wanted to go and play in Germany and that was disappointing.”

On representing his country, he adds: “It means everything. It’s your dream growing up. When you’re a kid and you’re playing in the streets, the number one goal is to play for your national team, to represent your country, represent your people. 

“I’ve managed to do that and I’m so proud of that, but I want more.”

There’s an extra incentive for Ferguson, who was back in the Scotland squad for the UEFA Nations League double-header against Greece, to add to his 14 caps, as his uncle Barry played 45 times for the national team.

Ferguson describes the Rangers interim boss as “someone I looked up to, I wanted to try and emulate”.

Can he become the most-capped member of the Ferguson clan?

“Hopefully over the course of the next 10 years I can play as many games as possible for Scotland and in as many major tournaments as possible,” he continues. 

“That’s the standard that we want to set. We want to be the country that goes to every tournament. 

“Over the past four years or so, we’ve really been improving and we’re still pushing to get better every time and be that country that gets there consistently.”

Football runs in the family. Aside from Barry, who won 15 major trophies at Ibrox as a player, his dad Derek played more than 200 matches for Rangers and Hearts and had a spell in England with Sunderland. 

Like his dad and uncle, Ferguson was part of the youth set-up at Ibrox. He then joined hometown club Hamilton and came through the ranks there before making his debut in 2017-18. He moved to Aberdeen ahead of the following season.

At Pittodrie he helped the Dons reach the League Cup final in 2018 by scoring the winner in the semi against Rangers at Hampden and was nominated for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award the year after.

When Bologna came calling, it was an easy choice.

“When I made the move, I just wanted to become a better footballer,” he explains. “I wanted to play at a high level.

“Serie A is at the top, top level, so I wanted to play regularly with top-level players and also against top-level opponents. I wanted to come outside my comfort zone. This is where you improve as a player. 

“There’s not much more coming out of your comfort zone than moving to a different country, having to learn a different culture and a different language.”

As well as adapting to his new environment, a two-game suspension picked up at Aberdeen had to be served in Serie A, which delayed his debut.

“It’s challenging at the beginning when you move because I had never lived outside of Scotland,” he says.

“Learning a new language is difficult and it takes time. 

“When I played in Scotland, it never really came into my thoughts when foreign players came, about them adjusting to not just the language, but a new culture and everything.”

Almost three years down the line, Ferguson can get by in Italian. Football, he says, made him a fast learner.

“After a while you start to pick up words on the pitch because you hear the same thing, also when the manager speaks,” he chuckles. 

“In football, the same words are used a lot. When I arrived, when I was hearing words, I would go home, search it up, I would look to see what was what.”

Ferguson’s performances led to him being named the best midfielder in Serie A last season as he scooped up the Bulgarelli No 8 Award, a prize with particular significance for Bologna as it is named after the late club legend Giacomo Bulgarelli.

Previous winners include Serie A royalty such as Daniele De Rossi, Nicolo Barella and Sandro Tonali.

With 14 Serie A goals to his name, Ferguson is already the most prolific Scot in the league’s history, surpassing the record set by the late Denis Law with Torino in the 1961-62 season.

The great Aberdonian was a trailblazer for the Scots, with Joe Jordan swapping Manchester United for AC Milan in 1981 and Graeme Souness leaving Liverpool for Sampdoria three years later.

After a long hiatus, Liam Henderson moved to Bari in 2018 and has since established himself as a regular at Empoli, while Aaron Hickey joined Bologna from Hearts five years ago.

The full-back departed for Brentford in 2022, with Bologna pocketing £15m for a player who cost them £1.5m.

Hickey left the Rossoblu just before Ferguson joined, but helped convince his compatriot to make the switch.

“I spoke with Aaron Hickey because he played here for two years before I came,” Ferguson explains.

“And in the summer when there was interest from Bologna, I was with the national team, so I was with Aaron when the interest came around. 

“I spoke with him and he really enjoyed being here, and spoke really positively about the city, about the club, the people. 

“I took it on board, it was all positive things. It gave me a little bit of comfort. It’s nice to speak to someone you know and they pass on their experiences.”

Following Ferguson’s arrival at Bologna, the Scottish contingent in Italy – which also includes Sassuolo full-back Josh Doig – has grown.

Last summer, Che Adams moved to Torino, while Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour joined Antonio Conte’s revolution at Napoli from Manchester United and Brighton respectively.

Now it was Ferguson’s turn to dish out advice.

“Che gave me a call one day and asked about the league, the country, the lifestyle and everything,” he says.  

“I’m a lot closer with Billy, so I spoke to him a lot before he made his move. It was just the similar conversation I had with Aaron.

“I spoke about my experience and how it’s been positive. I passed that on and it looks like they took it on board.”

Does Serie A’s Scottish contingent have a WhatsApp group where they all share their experiences? 

“We don’t have a group chat as such, but we keep in contact,” laughs Ferguson. 

“When I play against them, I have a chat after the game, we swap shirts. It’s good to see the lads over here and really doing well.”

Doing well is quite the understatement. McTominay has been a pivotal figure for Scudetto-chasing Napoli, while Adams is just a couple of goals short of Law’s record at Torino.

Meanwhile, 12 months on from his ACL injury, Ferguson is back to full fitness.

He returned to action in November when he came on as a substitute against Lecce but only made his first start of the season the following month.

His recovery was delayed by a muscular injury that kept him out for two weeks in February but he started Bologna’s most recent two fixtures.

The latter, a thumping 5-0 win over Lazio, was the Rossoblu’s fourth in a row in Serie A and marked a crucial shift in momentum in the race for the Champions League.

Bologna are fourth in Serie A, one point clear of Juventus and two ahead of Lazio with nine rounds left. They have won seven of their last 10 and are in the box seat in the race for the final Champions League spot. 

It seemed a tall order when Motta left for Juventus in the summer, while Joshua Zirkzee, a close friend of Ferguson, and Riccardo Calafiori moved to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively.

“Two amazing footballers,” the Scot says of his former team-mates. 

“I was not surprised that two massive clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United came in the summer and took them.”

Ferguson, who is under contract until June 2027, was linked with following Motta to Turin. He stayed put, but has nothing but praise for his former boss.

“Last season with Motta was fantastic,” he explains. “He played a big part in my development here in Italy. He gave me a lot of trust and confidence, and I learned a lot from him.” 

Bologna made a slow start under Italiano, winning just twice in their opening 10 Serie A fixtures, but have since hit their stride.

Motta’s debut season with Juventus descended into a nightmare and he was sacked on Sunday with the Bianconeri in danger of missing out on the Champions League after being shellacked 4-0 by Atalanta and 3-0 by Fiorentina over the past two weeks.

So, how do Italiano and Motta compare? 

“It’s a different style. Every manager has different styles and ideas,” Ferguson says. 

“With Motta, it was a little bit more strategic. With Italiano, it’s more intense. We attack a lot more, which means we have to defend a lot more counter-attacks, but it’s the way he wants to play and it suited the lads. 

“Everyone buys into it as you can see with the results and things are really going good.”

Bologna have also reached Coppa Italia semi-final for the first time in 26 years, but face a brutal run-in over the final two months of the season when they face the three Scudetto contenders in consecutive weeks as they host Napoli and Inter Milan with a trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta sandwiched in between.

And three of their fixtures after the second leg of the Coppa Italia are away, with trips to Udine, San Siro to face AC Milan and Florence coming either side of a visit from Juventus.

Returning to the Champions League would be a fantastic achievement for Bologna, whose only taste of European football’s most prestigious competition before this season was in 1964.

It is easy to forget that only 10 years ago they found themselves in Serie B for the first time in almost a decade, after spending three seasons in calcio’s second tier between 2005 and 2008.

But the significance of Champions League qualification last season stretched way beyond football for a city that had suffered devastating floods 12 months earlier.

“I was most happy about the staff at the club, the kit men, the physios, the chefs, all these people who have worked at the club for more than 20, 30 years,” Ferguson explains. 

“When we qualified, we were all here together and some of the staff were in tears. It brought me immense pride and joy just to see their faces because they had never seen this before.”

Ferguson missed Bologna’s first three Champions League fixtures due to his ACL injury and played just nine minutes of the defeat by Monaco, but returned in time to captain the Rossoblu in their remaining four games.

That run included a famous 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, the high watermark of a European campaign that returned just five points from eight fixtures.

Bologna’s Champions League adventure may have ended prematurely but Ferguson will cherish the memories.

“It’s always been my dream as a kid, to hear that music and play in Champions League games,” he says.  

“We had some big nights at home against some big teams and also playing away in Europe is really nice in the Champions League. Some tough games, which we learned a lot from. We benefited massively from these games.”

The proof, ultimately, will be in the proverbial pudding as Bologna could rub shoulders with European royalty again next season.

Which is exactly where Ferguson wants to be. 

“I want to be playing at the highest level consistently. I want to be playing in Europe every year,” he says. 

“I just want to keep playing, playing as many games as possible and improving. There’s so much to improve on and get better and learn, and I’m trying to do that every day.”