Scotland boss gives update on Harvey Barnes and Elliot Anderson futures | OneFootball

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has addressed speculation surrounding the international futures of duo Harvey Barnes and Elliot Anderson.

The Newcastle pair have been in the headlines ahead of his side’s clash with England on Tuesday night, with both players being eligible to represent Scotland in addition to the land of their birth.

Anderson pulled out of Scotland’s senior squad last week and Gareth Southgate has since admitted that he has an interest in the midfielder, while weekend reports suggested Barnes was now considering changing his allegiance.

“We like the player as well [as Southgate],” Clarke said of Anderson. “Elliot will still have that choice to make. When I come out of this camp, I’ll look at everything and then we’ll shape what we do from there.

“With Barnes, it’s probably the same. I’ll think about that after. We want the best players we can possibly get. If they’re eligible for Scotland, have a chance to play for us and can improve the squad, which isn’t easy to do, then we’ll see.

“I understand people are asking about it because we’re playing England and that’s the story around it that you want to talk about Elliot and Harvey but I want to speak about the boys we’ve got because they’ve put us in a great position and deserve great credit for that.”

Barnes has previously been capped once for England at senior level, while Anderson has represented Scotland at underage level at several levels, in addition to winning one England U19 cap.