‘Confident’ Newcastle forward to make international call after Euro qualification confirmed - opinion

Elliot Anderson's decision over his international future just got more complicated as Scotland qualify for Euro 2024.

Newcastle United have three players pondering their international futures right now, all torn between England and Scotland - and potentially Portugal in one case.

Elliot Anderson, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento are all eligible to play for Scotland and England, and in Livramento's case he could even be selected for Portugal.

Harvey Barnes recently hinted that he would be willing to switch to Scotland as he doesn't feel that an England call-up is necessarily realistic. To be fair to Barnes, he's probably right under Gareth Southgate as he'd rather play favourites than pick players in form. Of course, the entire point is moot right now as Barnes is still at the early stages of a lengthy lay-off.

Tino Livramento is already being touted in the media as the perfect replacement for Kieran Trippier at Newcastle with many outlets suggesting that he will take over the mantle at England too. He certainly has the raw talent and learning from Trippier at Newcastle certainly won't harm his chances.

The big mystery right now is Elliot Anderson. The 20-year-old Whitley Bay-born midfield maestro, nicknamed 'The Geordie Maradona' has represented Scotland at every level except senior. He was recently called up by Steve Clarke but Anderson pulled out of the training camp citing injury, but then later saying it didn't feel right.

Whether that experience has been enough for him to turn his back on Scotland altogether still remains to be seen, but Gareth Southgate has said several times that Anderson is on the England radar.

The Chronicle

Anderson has come on leaps and bounds over the last year, and while he still awaits his first official senior goal for Newcastle (that one against Nottingham Forest last season should have stood and I will die on this hill), he's doing literally everything else right in the black and white.

Described by Callum Wilson as a 'confident' player, Anderson has been turning heads recently and it's no surprise to Newcastle fans that he got picked for Scotland's senior side. However, it still feels like Anderson is hoping that he can play for his country of birth, given that he qualifies for Scotland via his grandparents.

Now that Scotland has booked their place in next year's European Championships, if Anderson wants to be involved in an international tournament sooner rather than later, he must make the call. A major tournament would look great on his CV, but without disrespect to Scotland, having England International on the resume looks a bit better. Although the way England are playing lately that is definitely debatable.

I still think Anderson has what it takes to represent England, as do Barnes and Livramento, they just need to wait it out until Southgate steps down or whatever happens next year, but he can't keep picking Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson forever!