Scotland boss urged to 'everything he can' to persuade pacey Newcastle man to play for the Tartan Army

Newcastle United have a couple of players who qualify to play for Scotland and England and Steve Clarke has now been urged to pursue one of them.

Former Newcastle player Elliot Anderson had to make the call between Scotland and England, and after receiving his first senior call up for Scotland, the midfielder left the camp early before making an appearance and ultimately declared he will represent England - despite playing for Scotland all through the youth ranks.

Tino Livramento is also eligible for both as well as Portugal, and despite recently being called up for England, the Newcastle right-back never made it on to the pitch in either of the Nations League games, so he could still switch allegiances, albeit a very unlikely move.

Meanwhile, Harvey Barnes is in a similar position and despite having played for England in the Nations League four years ago, still remains eligible for Scotland.

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Brian McClair has said that Steve Clark should call up Harvey Barnes

The £39 million former Leicester City man has been in fine form for Newcastle this season and as such, former Manchester United striker Brian McClair has told Sport Boom (via Newcastle World) that Steve Clarke should be seriously pursuing Barnes to switch allegiance.

"From a Scotland point of view, I think that they should be doing everything they can to persuade Harvey Barnes that his international future lies north of the border. Not even that far north, as he’s playing his football for Newcastle now. He’s one that I think would make a big difference, because of his pace and his attacking style.”

Harvey Barnes has been asked before about the idea of representing Scotland but did his best to avoid giving a definitive answer.

Switching to Scotland may not be a bad move for Harvey Barnes

Barnes spoke to The Times back in August about the fact that Scotland remains an option.

“Well I’m still eligible to play for Scotland. There’s been one or two conversations, but there’s not been too much detail into that. To be honest, I haven’t really brought it in as part of my thought process yet. It’s not really been a serious conversation, so it’s not something I’ve really thought too much on. But I know I am still eligible to play for Scotland.”

Scotland could definitely use Harvey Barnes after their embarrassing display at Euro2024 and he could give them that boost in quality that could see them push on. Barnes is already playing second-fiddle to Anthony Gordon at Newcastle, does he really want to have to do the same at England?