Mason Greenwood has formally applied to switch allegiance to Jamaica, meaning he would no longer be eligible to play for England.
The in-form Marseille striker is keen to reignite his international career, having earned just one cap for the Three Lions.
He was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault in January 2022 and later charged with attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and assault, before the charges were dropped a year later.
With Thomas Tuchel set to announce his first England squad next week, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham revealed that Greenwood is in the process of switching to Jamaica.
“So, my understanding is he’s asked to switch. That’s happened formally, so he wouldn’t be able to because you can only switch once,” Bullingham said.
Asked whether his ongoing omission was the reason why he has chosen to switch allegiances, Bullingham admitted that Greenwood had never been formally out of the running for a call-up.
“No, we actually didn’t have that communication,” he said. “I know people asked Gareth about him and Gareth was up front in that he hadn’t been in his thinking, because he hadn’t been performing at that level, so I’m not aware of any communication we had with him.
“I don’t think there was ever a request or anything like that. It just wasn’t one we got to, so it’s a personal decision by him.”
Ex-Man United forward Greenwood has been in excellent form for Marseille having netted 16 goals in 26 games for the Ligue 1 giants and is second in the scoring charts behind PSG’s Ousmane Dembele.
His one and only cap came in England’s clash with Iceland in September 2020 but he broke Covid rules after the match after he and Phil Foden allegedly invited two women into the Three Lions’ camp.
Should his switch to Jamaica be granted, then it would see the striker reunited with former Manchester United assistant boss Steve McClaren, who is the current head coach of the Reggae Boyz.
Greenwood came through Manchester United academy and was touted as the club’s future long-term striker.
He netted 35 times in 129 appearances for the Red Devils before his career took a downward spiral.
He was handed his Premier League debut in a fixture with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium by former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, aged just 17.
Source: Linda Ikeji Blog