FORMER Scotland assistant John Carver has revealed the moment he believes Elliot Anderson was ready to walk away from Scotland.
The Nottingham Forest star was eligible to play for the Scots through his Glasgow-born grandmother and played from Under 16s to Under 21s.
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The 22-year-old even got a call up to the full national team in August 2023 for a Euro 2024 qualifier against Cyprus.
Boss Steve Clarke said it was good for Scotland now and in the future and it would have meant that Anderson would never be able to play for England.
But Anderson later withdrew saying he needed more time to mull over his options and didn’t want to “dive” into anything.
Just a year after his change of heart, he received his first call up to England Under 21s and become a European U21 Championship winner.
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He made his full debut for the England national team in a 2-0 win in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday.
Former assistant boss Carver reckons he knew the moment Anderson was having second thoughts.
And it was after a meaty challenge from an ex-Celtic star.
He told the Newcastle Chronicle: “We were just having a small-sided game and Elliot clashed with Stuart Armstrong.
“I was refereeing the game and after it I thought: ‘That was a strange reaction!’
“I could tell he was uncomfortable, but didn’t know if it was about the environment or whether he’d just been kicked.
“When the game was finished, I went over to him and he was already walking towards me and he said: ‘John, can I have a word?’
“I could feel he was uncomfortable, possibly because he was English.
“I told him to speak to Steve Clarke as it was all about what he wanted as a young player. And that was it, he was on his way back down the road.
“It is always down to the player and how he feels. It never affected me, I was English and working for Scotland but he had his future ahead of him.
“It was different for me but at the end of the day Scotland lost a top player that day.”
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