Two English Premier League stars targeted for allegiance switch to Scotland

The manager has "spoken" with the players

Such is the nature of living on the island of Great Britain, there is plenty of crossover between English and Scottish heritage, with many players eligible to play for both.

In recent years, national teams looking to scout high-quality players not featuring for their nation of choice has become big business.

Now, the latest players who could make the switch are two well-known Premier League stars who have both played at youth level for England.

Tottenham's Archie Gray and Everton's Hayden Hackney have both reportedly spoken with Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli about the possibility of playing for the nation.

Gray is the grandson of former Scotland left-back Frank Gray, while Hayden Hackney played for Scotland's U21s, as well as England's U21s.

The Times report that Pocognoli has spoken with both players in a bid to broaden his pool of players.

As per The Herald, Pocognoli admitted having had "direct contact or indirect contact" with players that could make the switch.

He said: "When I go to the direct contact it’s because I feel it’s a first positive approach. I’ve done it with many players. I’ll do my best to bring them.

“With [Harvey] Barnes it was different. I knew before my first camp that he was different. The two other lads (Gray and Hackney) are young lads. It’s a long way. But if you wait too long, it might not be the right moment. In a year’s time, we will see.

“Right now, we have players in the squad who are performing well. It will always be up to them (current players) to be the priority. Because we’ve built things and we’ve had time with the ones who are here right now.

“But we are on it. We are always proactive in all of these situations. What is very exciting about those two names is that they are young players. That’s interesting. We have to look and manage the situation.”

“The depth of the squad is already so big without these other names. I am very happy with the squad because we have a good double-up and triple-up in each position.