Gareth Southgate is looking at the possibility of calling-up Fulham captain Tom Cairney to his England squad - despite him already being capped by Scotland.

The 27-year-old has two caps for Scotland, for whom he qualifies through his father, but they were only in friendly games against Canada and Costa Rica, meaning he has yet to play a competitive game.

That loophole means another country can snap up Cairney if they manage to persuade him to change allegiances to the country of his birth, and according to the Sun, the skipper is aware of Southgate's interest.

However, Scotland boss Alex McCleish will pick him for the Nations League squad against Israel in the next international break, meaning Cairney will have a decision to make if he wants to pursue a possible England call-up.

Southgate's interest in Cairney bears remarkable resemblance to his interest in West Ham's Declan Rice, who had been capped by the Republic of Ireland but withdrew from their Nations League squad for the game against Wales as he considered his international future.

He has three games for Martin O'Neill's side, but like Cairney's appearances for Scotland, none of those have been competitive, meaning under FIFA rules he is able to switch to England.

Cairney and Rice have both featured for Scotland and Ireland's youth teams and have never played for England at any level, but Southgate is keen to recruit more English-born players for his side amidst concerns of a lack of homegrown players coming through.

Cairney has enjoyed a good start to life in the Premier League after his goal saw Fulham promoted through the play-offs at Wembley, but has missed the past two games as a result of an ankle injury that he suffered in the 4-2 win over Burnley - an injury that saw him pull out of the latest Scotland squad.

Question marks remain over his fitness for this weekend's game, as Fulham welcome Watford to Craven Cottage.


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