Harvey Barnes issues honest response when asked about playing for Scotland at World Cup

Scotland qualified for the tournament last week

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Barnes was interviewed by Sky Sports following his Player of the Match display in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Manchester City at St James' Park.

The former Leicester City man scored a brace to help his side move four points away from the Premier League relegation zone.

Barnes' excellent performance came during a week in which the 27-year-old has been the subject of major discussion, regarding his international career.

The 2021 FA Cup winner may have been born in Burnley, but he still qualifies to play for Scotland through his maternal grandparents .

According to FIFA rules, so long as a player hasn’t earned a cap in a professional game, they’re allowed to switch to another nation. His sole appearance for the Three Lions took place during a friendly in 2020.

The potential within the rules for a sensational switch to Scotland, has caused rumours to circulate over the past week.

After full-time of Saturday's match, Barnes was questioned about those rumours by Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards.

After initially pretending to not hear the question, Barnes finally said: "That obviously isn't on my mind at the minute. There's a long way to go until the summer, " making clear that conversations between him and Scotland manager Steve Clark are not currently ongoing, even if he has left the door open.

Ex-Liverpool midfielder Redknapp, also on punditry duties, then added: "Harvey McBarnes, that's got a ring to it."

It remains to be seen whether discussions between the Newcastle United star at those behind the scenes at Scotland pick up momentum over the coming months.

After all, Barnes wouldn't be the first England-born Premier League star to switch allegiance to Scotland.

Scot McTominay also represented England at youth level and has gone on to become one of the most important players in modern Scottish football history, scoring a brilliant bicycle kick against Denmark last Tuesday to help the Tartan Army qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.