Clarke says Barnes needs to reach out if he wants to play for Scotland

Posted on : 09/11/2023
Clarke says Barnes needs to reach out if he wants to play for Scotland
Soccer 

Steve Clarke insists Harvey Barnes needs to reach out to him if Newcastle winger wants to switch allegiance from England to Scotland

  • Steve Clarke says Harvey Barnes should tell him if he wants to play for Scotland 
  • Barnes is reportedly interested in switching his allegiance from England 
  • Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off! 

Steve Clarke has encouraged Harvey Barnes to reach out to him if he wants to play for Scotland.

The Newcastle winger, 25, is eligible through grandparents and, having appeared only once for England in a friendly in 2020, is said to be open to switching allegiance.

Clarke was asked directly about Barnes ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against England, and said: ‘We want the best players we can possibly get, if they are eligible and really, really want to be with us and they improve the squad, which is not an easy thing to do. If that player makes it better and is fully committed to what we are trying to do as a nation then fine, bring them on board.

‘I am not going to say I haven’t spoken to Harvey, because I have. But that was a long time ago. I haven’t heard from him since. The next phone call won’t be from me. I’m not saying he has to call me, but after this camp I probably still have a couple of weeks of fishing and I will be playing a bit of golf and getting ready for the October games.’

Elliot Anderson, a team-mate of Barnes at Newcastle, is also eligible for both nations. The 20-year-old was with the Scotland squad last week but returned to the North-East after reporting an injury. Gareth Southgate has since said that he admires the player.

Steve Clarke has asked Harvey Barnes to reach out for him if he wants to play for Scotland

Clarke suggested that he is open to the possibility of Barnes being involved for Scotland

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‘We like the player as well,’ said Clarke. ‘Elliot will still have that choice to make. There was a conversation that I had earlier in the year. All quiet. I then got a phone call to say he wanted to come. So we brought him up, he picked up a knock and went back.

’It puts him in the situation where he was before he came to camp. He can play for England, he can play for Scotland. That’s it and there is nothing else I can do on that. We will see how it pans out.’

Clarke is also an admirer of Elliot Anderson, who can play for England or Scotland

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