Newcastle United star ponders major U-Turn after ‘really thankful’ Elliot Anderson admission
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Newcastle United latest news: Harvey Barnes could represent Scotland at international level.
Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes has admitted he has not fully closed the door on representing Scotland at international level.
Barnes qualifies to play for Scotland through his grandparents and whilst he has been capped by England at senior level, because that came in a friendly match, he is still eligible to switch allegiances. Scotland, meanwhile, secured their place at next summer’s World Cup following a dramatic 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden on Tuesday night.
Barnes could feature for Steve Clarke’s side in that tournament if he opts to switch his international allegiance to Scotland and could benefit from a dearth of options available to the former Magpies coach at left-wing. Ben Gannon-Doak started on the left on Tuesday, but was substituted early in the piece after suffering a hamstring injury.
His replacement, Kenny McLean, is a natural central midfielder with Aston Villa’s John McGinn shifted to the left to accommodate that change. Had Barnes been in that squad, he would have been the perfect man for Clarke to bring on and would be someone that adds great depth to the Scottish squad.
Harvey Barnes on potential Scotland decision
There are, of course, no guarantees that Barnes will choose to commit his international future to Scotland. Certainly, that was the view that Barnes gave to Sky Sports when asked about a potential switch to playing for Scotland: “It’s not something I’ve really spoken about or put thought into recently,” the former Leicester City man said.
“There’s always been talk about it and a while ago there was bits and bobs about it. But recently it’s not cropped up.
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“It was great to see them win and get through [on Tuesday] night, it was a crazy game, and I’m sure everyone in Scotland enjoyed themselves.
“Is it closed off? No, of course it’s not.
“I’ve obviously played for England and I know the eligibility side of it is still there so it’s hard to say either way but there’s been no real chats or progression in that sense.”
Switching international allegiances is not uncommon and an issue that has cropped up involving a Newcastle United player, Scotland and England in the very recent past. Elliot Anderson, now a regular at Nottingham Forest and in Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions squads, was handed a call-up to Scotland’s senior side in September 2023. At the time, Anderson was trying to force himself into Eddie Howe’s first-team plans at Newcastle United and was well-known to assistant manager John Carver.
However, he withdrew from that squad because of injury and, speaking in September ahead of his debut for England, admitted that he was ‘really thankful’ he didn’t commit to playing for Scotland at that time: “I went away with the Scotland team and I left camp after a few days and decided that I needed more time to make my decision,” Anderson said.
“I didn't want to dive into anything. I'm really thankful I've done that now.
“I'm definitely English, that's where I see myself, but I hadn't really been called up to England throughout the age groups when I was younger. So I thought I'd take the opportunity to play and when I got that belief that I was good enough to play for England, it hit me and I focused on England.”