The Newcastle and Blackburn Rovers icon admires the decision of the Englishman to play for the country of his birth.
English Premier League legend, Alan Shearer believes Harvey Barnes has made the right choice to have ‘a good crack’ at the England team instead of settling for Scotland.
After years of speculation, the Scotland boss understandably wants to move on from the Barnes saga, however his choice has sparked debate as to why he’d turn down a guaranteed place at the World Cup for a team where he may not even make the bench. Despite this, Newcastle legend, Shearer believes the Burnley-born winger has made the right call.
‘I admire his decision’ - Shearer on Barnes
He told Betfair: “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.”
Clarke hopes to ‘move on’ after Barnes snub
The Scotland boss has relentlessly been asked questions for years now about Barnes’ International future. After the 28-year old opted for England, Clarke appeared to be relieved that the speculation is now over and done with.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's the perennial question, everybody keeps asking me about it, 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. 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."
Barnes isn’t the first player that’s been eligible for Scotland but chose England instead. Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson played with Scotland at almost every youth level before opting for the Three Lions, who he has now played for on six occasions.
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