Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes has rejected the opportunity to play for Scotland at the World Cup.
Harvey Barnes deserves credit for turning down a World Cup chance with Scotland, according to Newcastle United and England legend Alan Shearer.
Eligible for Scotland via his maternal grandparents, head coach Steve Clarke confirmed on Wednesday that the 28-year-old had decided his allegiance would remain with England after the 60-year-old boss made a fresh attempt to lure the in-form Magpies star ahead of this summer’s tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Capped once by England in a friendly clash against Wales almost six years ago, FIFA rules would have allowed Barnes to defect to Scotland if both sides had come to an agreement, with his only cap coming in a non-competitive fixture. However, he has informed Clarke that he intends to remain eligible for the Three Lions.
Barnes wants to break into the England squad ahead of the World Cup this summer, and has rejected the chance to represent Scotland.placeholder image
Barnes wants to break into the England squad ahead of the World Cup this summer, and has rejected the chance to represent Scotland. | SNS Group
“It’s the perennial question,” said Clarke. “Everybody keeps asking me about it. This time I can say for sure, Harvey is going to concentrate on trying to play for England. He’s not going to come to Scotland. You can put that one out there. Nobody needs to ask me about it any more and nobody needs to ask Harvey. He can make his decision and we move on.”
It had been hoped that his long absence from the England setup, coupled with Scotland’s return to the World Cup after a 28-year wait, could convince the £38million former Leicester City star to switch his international allegiance and wear the navy jersey at the World Cup, where Scotland face Haiti, Morocco, and Brazil in Group C.
The Burnley-born attacker has been in fine form for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle this season, scoring 10 goals for the club across all competitions, and has been praised by Magpies icon Shearer for choosing to reject Scotland's advances, and backed him to be named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the tournament instead.
“I think Harvey Barnes was right to snub Scotland,” Shearer told BetFair. “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.
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“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.”