Elliot Anderson: England And Scotland Battle For Young Star

Scotland host England on Tuesday in a friendly and the old rivals are approaching the fixture in differing form.

The Tartan Army are top of their group in EURO 2024 qualifying with maximum points whilst England drew their last game against Ukraine but are also top of their qualifying group.

There is another battle between the two nations, however, and that is with young midfielder Elliot Anderson.

The 20-year-old Newcastle United star is eligible for both nations and is wanted by both.

He was called up by Steve Clarke for Scotland earlier in the international window but pulled out of the squad due to a hamstring injury.

England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that he is interested in the former Scotland youth player, saying that he likes the player.

“We liked him, and we do like him. We think he’s a player that’s doing really well.

“I saw he’s pulled out [of the Scotland squad]. That’s something that [FA technical director] John [McDermott] and others at our organisation will be picking up. He’s definitely a player we like.”

Anderson is faced with a decision on who to commit to, according to Clarke.

“We like the player as well so Elliot [Anderson] 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.”

Anderson has made 32 appearances for Newcastle since graduating from their academy and has spent time on loan at Bristol Rovers. However, he isn’t the only Newcastle player in the tug-of-war.

Winger Harvey Barnes is also considering switching allegiances according to reports.

Barnes has only played for England once in a friendly against Wales and the one-cap wonder is wanted by Clarke but has heaped praise on his current squad.

“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.

“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.”

Southgate said that he also likes Barnes but acknowledges the level of competition, especially in his position as the likes of Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford occupy the spot currently in the England team.

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