Newcastle United star given clear international message amid England and Scotland dilemma

England ended their international period with a 3-1 win over Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night with Kieran Trippier being Newcastle’s sole representative to start for the Three Lions this break. Harvey Barnes has had a promising start to his Magpies career, but was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad and has recently been tipped with switching allegiance to play for Scotland.

Barnes has made just one senior appearance for the Three Lions, coming in a friendly match against Wales back in 2020, and is still eligible to play for the Tartan Army. Scotland boss Steve Clarke was coy on discussing Barnes’ international future, however, Simon Jordan believes that the 25-year-old shouldn’t be given the option of playing for Scotland, stating that his one England cap should be enough to ensure he can only play for the Three Lions in the future.

Jordan told TalkSport: “That’s nice, but that’s nothing to do with him [Barnes]. I think once you’ve played for a country, you’ve picked your allegiance and that should be it.

“We’ve got a society where you get medals for participation if you go to school, kids can’t lose anymore. They have to have a medal for participation. You chose your country, be good enough to play for it.”

Barnes’ teammate Elliot Anderson is also facing a similar dilemma in being able to pick between Scotland and England. Anderson was called up to represent Scotland during this international period, however, he withdrew from the squad through injury and is reportedly being watched by England with a potential call-up on the horizon.