Steve Clarke has opened the door to England cap Harvey Barnes representing Scotland.
The Newcastle winger played once for the Auld Enemy in a friendly against Wales in 2020 but remains eligible to pull on a Dark Blue jersey through his maternal grandparents.
In the aftermath of Scotland qualifying for the World Cup, the Burnley-born player spoke openly about the possibility of yet switching allegiance to play for Clarke’s side.
And, addressing the matter publicly for the first time, Clarke has admitted that Barnes is now on his radar.
It’s understood that the Scotland boss is likely to initially speak to the player’s agent in the New Year to ascertain the winger’s position before speaking to him personally.
If those discussions go well, the 28-year-old could be part of the squad for the March friendlies.
Harvey Barnes represented England in a friendly match against Wales five years ago
Steve Clarke, at Sunday’s League Cup final, is open to Harvey Barnes switching to Scotland
Barnes has been in fine form for Newcastle this season and would give Clarke another option on the wing
‘That would be good timing,’ said Clarke. ‘That would be the right timing.’
Clarke isn’t concerned that some players might take exception to Barnes appearing on the scene three months before Scotland compete in a World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Citing the case of Che Adams, who became a Scotland player shortly before Euro 2020, Clarke added: ‘It didn’t happen with Che. He was welcomed into the group straightaway.
‘Football players are quite selfish, they like to think if someone is going to help them be better and the team to be better….
‘As long as they come and they are committed then I am pretty sure anyone who comes into this group of players will enjoy it. It is a really good, honest, hard-working group of players. Anyone who came in I think will struggle not to enjoy it. Let’s see what happens.’
Clarke has received confirmation that he’ll be able to take a 26-man squad to the finals – the same number that went to Euro 2024 in Germany.
Content that it gives scope for players like Barnes to be introduced, he added: (There are) loads of names, loads of club managers and agents putting their players forward.
‘They have to be good. They have to be committed, they have to want to play for Scotland.
‘It is 26 again. So, there are some spaces there, but not too many. We should be very grateful and loyal to the players that have got us there, I think that is very important. That is something we have built over the last six and a half years. We have built a trust with this group of players that we understand each other. If you want to get into this squad then you have to be good and committed and there will be some spaces.’
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Barnes could be one of many new faces Clarke’s considers for the March friendly matches
Scotland’s build up will begin in earnest in March with Japan the likely opponent for a home friendly with a match against an African nation in the north of England also being looked at.
The current hope is that there will be a Hampden send-off game at the end of May.
While the plans for North America have yet to be finalised, Scotland are considering an initial training camp in a humid environment such as of Florida which would conclude with a friendly against a non-European nation around June 5/6.
Although the first games against Haiti and Morocco are in Boston, a lack of suitable training camps in that area means SFA officials are exploring the idea of basing themselves in North Carolina or Ohio from June 7 and spending less time in the host city by travelling there two days before each game.
It’s not yet been decided when Scotland would head to Miami ahead of the meeting with Brazil on June 24.
With the top ranked nations getting first pick of the training camps, Scotland won’t know their exact itinerary until the middle of January.