It’s time for these Newcastle United players to choose Scotland?
John Carver revealed last week (see below) that Scotland was interested in a trio of NUFC talents.
Three Newcastle United players were mentioned by Carver, a member of Steve Clarke’s backroom staff, as players they would most like to see commit to Scotland.
The three Newcastle United players John Carver mentioned had the following backgrounds, making them eligible to play for Scotland:
Elliot Anderson
Born in England, has Scottish grandparent(s).
Harvey Barnes
Born in England, has Scottish grandparent(s).
Tino Livramento
Born in England, mother is Scottish, father’s side of family from Portugal.
For these Newcastle United players, it must be the now or never moment.
Erling Haaland and Norway won’t be in Germany for the Euro Finals next year because to a Gavi goal in the 49th minute last night, but Scotland and Spain will attend.
After Spain’s 1-0 victory over Norway on Sunday, Euro Qualification Group A now consists of the following teams:
Scotland qualifying with two matches still left to play, making sure of their finals spot ahead of England set to do the same.
Joselu came on in the final stages to help Spain over the line last night, whilst former Newcastle midfielder Mikel Merino was an unused sub.
Interesting to see what happens now.
One thing for sure though, if Steve Clarke could convince Barnes, Livramento and Anderson to commit, it would be a massive injection of quality into the Scotland team.
Will the chance to play in the Euros in Germany in summer 2024 be enough to tip any / all of these Newcastle United players into the Scotland camp?
John Carver talking to The Herald about these three Newcastle United players – 11 October 2023:
“We have to respect and give him (Elliot Anderson) the time to make his decision. He’s a young lad, he’s developing as a player and developing in the right direction. He needs to be given a little bit of time with his family.
“We’ve not put him under any pressure whatsoever. I think that’s the best way to deal with it and we’ll see how it progresses in the future. We can talk about Elliot, but it’s about the people who are here and we put our energy into that.
“I normally keep my distance anyway, but Newcastle’s my football club and I was at the Champions League game the other night. When he came on he was quite effective in the game, but it’s not for me to get involved. I’ve not spoken to anyone at the football club, I’ve not spoken to him or his family, it’s about giving him time.
“The door’s open. We never put him under pressure before we called him into the squad, they came to us. So we’ll have to wait and see. We respect the fact he’s so young. It’s a big decision and we can’t get involved in that. We let them make the decision.
Carver added: “We’re always looking to improve it. We’re always searching, don’t worry about that. Whenever I go to a game I speak to people in the director’s box, even fans sometimes, to try and find out if there’s anyone out there.
“You have to search. Sometimes people come forward with information, but the information’s not true. But you can never stop searching because you always hope to find a hidden gem.
“Newcastle have a few. As well as Elliot there is Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento. They’re out there and if they’re good enough I’m sure Steve will try to get them in the squad. But it has to be a two-way thing, for sure.
“This squad’s improved over time, they continue to improve and we never rest on our laurels. We’re always looking for better, raise the standard. So for them to get into the group they have to be special.”
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