Joey Barton didn’t hold back when he found out that Scott McTominay had decided to represent Scotland instead of England at international level.

"He obviously wants his summers off,” Barton said in a shot not just McTominay but at Scotland, too.

"He has shown his ambition hasn't he?” Barton added.

“He realises the weight of playing for England and working every summer - he doesn't want that.”

McTominay, 21, was born in Lancaster but has chosen to represent the country where his father and grandparents come from.

The midfielder has broken into Manchester United’s first team this season and could get his first taste of international football when Scotland take on Costa Rica on Friday evening.

Scotland boss Alex McLeish will be delighted to have snatched McTominay away from England. But it wasn’t that difficult of a task.

What Southgate did to try to convince McTominay

Former Manchester United and Scotland midfielder Brian McClair has revealed the lengths McLeish and England manager went to in order to convince McTominay.

And there was only going to be one winner.

“Alex McLeish made a huge effort getting to [Manchester United's training ground] Carrington to meet up with him, because it was in the middle of the bad weather that we had,” McClair said.

“He made it, put a case. [England manager] Gareth Southgate sent him a text."

Barton questions the quality of England's current midfield

Either Southgate wasn’t that fussed about getting McTominay or he’s just lazy. Even a phone call to the Man United midfielder would have shown his desire.

Now, Southgate will have to make do with a midfield group in the friendlies against Netherlands and Italy that Barton believes he would surpass if he was younger.

Jake Livermore and Lewis Cook are among those in Southgate’s latest squad.

“I’m looking at the squad now and you look at the central midfield spots and, no disrespect to some of the boys, they wouldn’t have got anywhere near that side either. I mean, I didn’t,” Barton said on talkSPORT as his struggle to get in an England squad that included Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick.

“If I was that age now, there’s no about it, I was a lot better than some of the guys who are in that squad now.”