Scotland boss George Burley looks to poach Accies starlet James McCarthy from Irish

Oct 5 2008

SCOTLAND have made a move to steal James McCarthy from the Republic of Ireland.

MailSport can reveal the Hamilton hitkid has been assessed by George Burley who reckons the 17-year-old can go all the way.

And the Scots boss has ordered his backroom staff to pull out all the stops to land the midfielder.

McCarthy was born in Glasgow but opted to turn out for Ireland's Under-17 team last year after previous Scotland regimes had ignored him.

His grandfather was born in Donegal and he has since been capped at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 level.

But a player can switch allegiances up until his 21st birthday as long as he hasn't won a full cap.

And this loophole has led to the SFA talking with Accies boss Billy Reid to find out McCarthy's feelings on a switch.

Burley - who watched the player in Hamilton's 4-0 defeat by Celtic yesterday - and Scotland Under-21 boss Billy Stark want to meet him.

Both believe he could be playing for the full side before long but the SFA are awaiting news.

Landing McCarthy would be a major coup but the Irish - who saw Celtic's Aiden McGeady pick them ahead of Scotland - are desperate to keep him.

The youngster signed a three-year Hamilton deal in the summer but is being monitored by Celtic, Chelsea and Liverpool.