Barnes has turfed out an approach to play for the Scots in favour of trying to get back into the England fold
15:45, 13 Feb 2026
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Newcastle United's Harvey Barnes(Image: Newcastle United via Getty Image)
Alan Shearer has praised Harvey Barnes for turning down the chance to play for Scotland and claims that the winger would have 'walked' into Steve Clarke's team ahead of the World Cup.
Barnes qualifies to represent the Dark Blues through his maternal grandparents, and although he has been capped for England at senior level, is still eligible to switch his allegiances because his sole appearance came in a friendly match back in 2020.
However, boss Clarke dropped the bombshell news on Wednesday night that the 28-year-old had opted not to declare for Scotland in the hope of forcing his way back into the Three Lions' picture.
And Newcastle and England hero Shearer - who remains the English Premier League's all-time top goal scorer with 260 goals - reckons Barnes' decision is very admirable.
Speaking to Betfair, he said: "I think Harvey Barnes was right to snub Scotland, he has a chance of going to the World Cup with England, albeit there's lots of players ahead of him at this moment in time. So, he's going to have to do well in between now and the end of the season.
"I admire his decision. There's no doubt he would have walked into the Scotland team. But clearly that's not going to be the case with England. So, there are players ahead of him. But he's having a good season and there's no doubt he's a lot better player for Newcastle on the left-hand side.
"He enjoys playing there a lot more, you can see that. I hope he continues his form, continues starting every game and he gets a good crack at it.
"Not only would he walk into the squad, he would also walk into the team with Scotland. But that's very different with England."
Revealing the motives behind Barnes' snub in a live interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Clarke said: "It's the perennial question, everybody keeps asking me about it.
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Scotland head coach Steve Clarke celebrates
"This time I can say for sure, Harvey's going to concentrate on trying to play for England, he's not going to come to Scotland.
"You can put that one out there. That's for sure. Nobody needs to ask me or Harvey about it any more.
"Am I disappointed? No, listen, Harvey can make up his own mind. We move on."
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