Scotland manager Steve Clarke will take stock of his attempts to bring aboard Newcastle pair Elliot Anderson and Harvey Barnes after Tuesday’s Hampden friendly against England.

Whitley Bay-born Anderson, who has a Scottish grandmother, spent two days with Scotland last week before withdrawing from the squad before their trip to Cyprus due to injury.

England manager Gareth Southgate has since expressed admiration for the Newcastle midfielder and stated his backroom team would be taking the situation up.

The 20-year-old has been capped at several levels for Scotland but has also attended an England Under-19 training camp.

Clarke said: “We like the player as well so Elliot will still have that choice to make.

“When I come out of this camp I will look at what we have done, what we have had, what’s occurred over this camp, we will do a debrief on it and then we will shape what we do from there.”

Former Leicester winger Barnes is reported to be considering a switch of allegiance after playing once for England in a friendly win over Wales three years ago.

The 25-year-old was born in Burnley and brought up in Leicestershire but has Scottish grandparents.

When asked about Barnes, Clarke said: “Probably the same comment, to think about that after.

“We want the best players we can possibly get. If they are eligible for Scotland and they have a chance to play for us and they can improve the squad that I’ve got – which is not an easy thing to do…

“And I get all the story round it, because we are playing England you want to speak about Elliot, you want to speak about Harvey.

“I quite like speaking about the boys I have got because they have put us in a really good position and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Elliot Anderson is a surprise call-up for Scotland after electing to ignore advances from England.

The 20-year-old Newcastle midfielder has played for Scotland at youth level and is in the squad to face Cyprus and England next month after playing three Premier League games this season.

Here we look at Anderson’s development so far.

Background

Anderson was born in Whitley Bay and brought up as a Newcastle fan. His grandfather, Geoff Allen, was part of the squad that won United’s last major trophy, the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. On the other side of his family, Anderson’s paternal grandmother is Scottish, allowing him to represent Scotland. Anderson joined Newcastle at under-nine level after playing for the renowned Wallsend Boys’ Club, whose previous players include Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley, Michael Carrick, Steve Bruce, Lee Clark, Steve Watson and Alan Thompson.

Early Newcastle chances

The attacking midfielder played in the EFL Trophy as a 16-year-old for Newcastle Under-21s and scored against Port Vale just after turning 17 before netting twice against Bolton 12 months later. He made his first-team debut off the bench in the FA Cup against Arsenal in January 2021 and his Premier League debut against the same opposition later that month, but did not play again that season.

Loan success

After going 12 months without another first-team appearance, Anderson joined Bristol Rovers on loan for the second half of the 2021-22 season. The move was a major success. Anderson scored seven goals in 21 appearances and helped Rovers win promotion to League One as he netted in a 7-0 win over Scunthorpe on the final day of the season to go up on goal difference.

International career

Anderson’s first Scotland game was a 3-3 draw for the under-16s against Denmark in February 2018. He played three times for the under-17s and won two games with the under-18s in September 2019. His next international involvement came for England Under-19s in a training-ground friendly against Arsenal Under-23s in March 2021. With both Scotland and England eyeing Anderson for their under-21 squads, the player turned down a chance to team up with Scot Gemmill’s squad in March 2022 so he did not miss games with Bristol Rovers. He then played in a goalless draw for Scotland Under-21s in Belgium in June 2022 but turned down further call-ups as he considered his future. In seven Scotland appearances in total at several levels, Anderson is yet to be on the losing side.

Newcastle breakthrough

After returning from Rovers, Anderson made his first start for Newcastle in a League Cup win at Tranmere in August last year. His first Premier League start came against Liverpool in February this year, although he was forced off injured early on. He made 27 appearances in all last season and has come off the bench three times this season.

High praise

While on loan with Joey Barton’s Bristol Rovers, Anderson received high praise from former Northampton manager and Newcastle chief scout Graham Carr, who oversaw a successful recruitment drive with the Magpies that brought in the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse. Carr told the Daily Mail in March 2022: “You can go out and sign as many young players as you want, you will be doing well to get any better than Elliot Anderson. He receives the ball like Peter Beardsley. He kills it and moves it all in one motion. That is a gift. He’s the best young player I have seen in a long time. Newcastle haven’t produced anyone like him, in terms of his technical gifts, probably all the way back to Gazza. He plays with a swagger. Every time he got the ball you knew something was going to happen. He always wants to dribble and moves off quickly. He knows he’s good, but there’s no harm in that.”

Steve Clarke revealed Newcastle midfielder Elliot Anderson had decided against switching allegiance to England following positive discussions with the Scotland manager ahead of his first senior call-up.

Anderson has been called into Clarke’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifier against Cyprus and a friendly against England.

The 20-year-old has represented Scotland at under-16, under-17 and under-18 level and then played a training-ground friendly for England Under-19s against Arsenal Under-23s in 2021.

The attacking midfielder made a sole Scotland Under-21 appearance against Belgium in June 2022 before turning down further call-ups from Scot Gemmill as he considered his international future.

But Anderson was a surprise inclusion in Clarke’s squad after coming off the bench in all three of Newcastle’s Premier League matches this season.

Whitley Bay-born Anderson, who has a Scottish grandmother, is included ahead of the likes of David Turnbull, who has not been in recent squads but has been back in the Celtic team under Brendan Rodgers.

Clarke said: “Elliot has been through the under-age groups with Scotland, he is one we have had an eye on.

“He had a little think about choosing between Scotland and England. We had some good discussions with the boy and his family and he has chosen to come with us, which is good for us now and certainly good for us in the future.

“He has been with us in general. Obviously when you get to a certain stage in your career and you can see your career is starting to take off, which Elliot’s is at Newcastle…We have got some great reports from people within the club at Newcastle, which is good to hear.

“Then you have to make that choice. Elliot was born in England, he has got decisions to make, and we are just happy he has come down on our side.

“He has been involved in the under-age, he has played in the under-21s, so he has chosen to stay with us and hopefully that turns out to be a good decision for Elliot and ourselves.

“I think it shows how well the boys that I have been picking on a regular basis have done. Qualification for Euro 2020 and obviously we are looking to qualify for another major tournament this time, and we hope we can continue to improve.

“I have always tried to look down towards the under-age groups, the under-21s, to try to give a pathway so that we are not just having a squad for now but looking to build a squad that will carry us through not just the next tournament but the tournament after that and the tournament after that. Elliot is part of that process.”

Clarke also gave hope to Liverpool winger Ben Doak that the 17-year-old was not far off a full call-up.

“Anybody who is doing well for their club, especially at a club like Liverpool, playing off the bench in the English Premier League, they are always going to be close,” he said. “I just feel that on this occasion, it was the right time to bring in Elliot.

“Ben knows that we are watching him, he knows that he is part of the future, but he has to continue doing what he is doing at his club, and he has to continue playing well. If he does that, I’m sure his turn won’t be too far away.”

Che Adams is back in the 25-man squad after missing victories over Norway and Georgia in June through injury.

There are eight defenders in the squad, meaning several players drop out.

There is no place for Blackburn’s Dominic Hyam and Celtic full-backs Anthony Ralston and Greg Taylor but Nottingham Forest centre-back Scott McKenna returns following injury.

Leeds defender Liam Cooper drops out after being ruled out for eight weeks with a foot injury earlier this month, while Ross McCrorie misses out after being a late call-up in the summer.

Scotland are looking to continue their 100 per cent record in the Euro 2024 qualifiers when they take on Cyprus in Larnaca in their fifth group game on September 8.

They then host England at Hampden four days later in a game to mark the 150th anniversary of football’s first international in 1872.