New Newcastle United star considering shock move after previous snub

Newcastle United summer signing Harvey Barnes is reportedly considering switching his international allegiance to Scotland.

The former Leicester City winger made four appearances for England Under-21s during his time with the Foxes and also earned a solitary senior cap when he came on as a substitute in a 3-0 friendly win against Wales in August 2020.

However, FIFA rules dictate a player is eligible to switch allegiance to a different country if he has not appeared in a competitive international.

Barnes, who joined Newcastle in a reported £35million move during the summer, qualifies to feature for Scotland through his grandparents and The Times have reported the Magpies star is ‘open-minded’ to a switch as the Tartan Army move closer to qualification for the finals of Euro 2024.

Barnes is said to have snubbed approaches from the Scottish FA earlier in his career but would now reconsider after failing to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad in recent years, despite impressing during Leicester’s unsuccessful battle against relegation from the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Scotland manager Steve Clarke has admitted there is ‘not a lot he can do’ about Elliot Anderson’s international future after the Newcastle youngster was forced to withdraw from his squad last week.

Anderson suffered an injury ahead of Euro 2024 qualifier win at Cyprus on Friday and will also miss Tuesday’s eagerly anticipated home friendly with England. The 20-year-old is yet to earn a competitive cap with the Tartan Army and there have been questions over whether he will commit his future to Scotland in the near future.

Clarke gave a short and sharp answer to a question about Anderson’s future when has was asked about where his international future could lie, saying: “It’s not something I can control. There’s not a lot I can do about it.”