England boss Southgate says more fights for dual nationals likely
England boss Gareth Southgate has said football is likely to see “more and more” international teams fight for the best players who are registered as dual nationals.
Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes is reportedly considering changing allegiances from England to Scotland – who Southgate’s side face tonight in a friendly marking 150 years of fixtures between the two sides – while Magpies teammate Elliott Anderson could find himself switching from north to south of Hadrian’s Wall.
“There are going to be more and more of these situations – there are so many players with dual or triple nationality now it is very complicated for every country and sometimes you can’t offer the player something as quickly as they would like,” Southgate said.
England to fight
“Both [are] very good players. In terms of Harvey he’s obviously a player who has played for us.
“We’ve got a lot of competition in that area of the pitch but he is a player we are always monitoring.
“He is a player we like a lot.
“With Elliott, I think he is a player that has progressed really well.
“We’ve previously spoken with him but of course he was named in the [Scotland] squad here so we thought that was that.
“We’ve benefited from it [in the past] but we’ve also lost players because of it – and that’s always going to be the way.”
The likes of Wilfried Zaha – England to Ivory Coast – and Declan Rice – Ireland to England – are among those who have switched allegiances from or to England.
There are also reports of former England player Mason Greenwood – currently attempting to resurrect his career in Spain following assault allegations – potentially representing Jamaica.
Scotland on the mind
Tonight’s clash at Hampden Park is the 116th meeting between the two sides and the first since a 0-0 draw in the group stages of Euro 2020, in which the Three Lions reached the final.
“We see this as a really good test of us as a team,” Southgate added.
“You’re playing a high level opponent in a really intimidating atmosphere and they’re the nights that have been important in our growing process.
“It’s a challenge that we’ve got to head towards and relish.
“We have huge ambition as a team but also have a lot of work to do.”