24 October 2023 , 01:00
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Darren Fletcher's son Tyler has switched his international allegiance back to Scotland after representing England.
The 16-year-old midfielder, who joined Manchester United's academy from Manchester City in August, has represented both Scotland and England at under-16 level since making his international debut last year. He helped England win the Montaigu Tournament in April.
Yet Tyler appears to be edging towards a career with Scotland after featuring for their U17s against Belarus in a Euros qualifier on Saturday. Tyler's twin brother Jack has also represented both England and Scotland but didn't feature against Belarus.
Jack, who was also part of England's victorious Montaigu Tournament squad, could still pledge his allegiance to Scotland too. Yet there's no question marks over Darren's allegiance, as the United legend is a former Scotland captain with 80 caps to his name.
Tyler and Jack were born in Manchester while Darren was playing for United. Their 39-year-old dad featured in 342 games for the Red Devils and won 13 trophies - including five Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
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Darren is now United's technical director and was delighted to persuade both Tyler and Jack to move to Old Trafford during the summer. Like Tyler, Jack is a midfielder and also switched from the blue half to the red half of Manchester.
United paid around £1.25million to sign Tyler and Jack from City. "Happy to have signed for Manchester United," wrote Tyler on Instagram after completing his move. "Looking forward to the future." Jack also described the move as his "next challenge".
Darren Fletcher with Jack and Tyler back in 2015 (Getty Images)Which country should Tyler and Jack Fletcher pledge their international allegiance to? Let us know in the comments below!
The twins were congratulated by the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Bardsley, Alex Bruce and Sunderland's Corry Evans, as well as fellow United youngsters Daniel Gore and Shea Lacey. "Class mate, well done," Rooney told Tyler.
There's still plenty of time for the twins to choose which country they want to represent, as many footballers decide to play for a different nation when they progress to senior level. Tyler has previously captained Scotland - just like his dad.
A lot of players born in England have represented Scotland at international level, including current stars Che Adams, Angus Gunn and Oli McBurnie. United midfielder Scott McTominay, who was born in Lancaster, has become one of Scotland's biggest stars.
"I wanted to play for Scotland, and I always have done, since I was a young boy, so it was an incredibly proud moment when he (then Scotland manager Alex McLeish) did call me up," said McTominay in 2018 when he received his first call up aged 21.