Morgan Schneiderlin has been in terrific form for Southampton this season and has played a huge part in their impressive season. At the time of writing, that sees them sitting above Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur with the Saints in with a shout of a top six place this season. Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino was recently asked whether he was surprised that Schneiderlin has yet to be called up to the French national team. His response was that he was indeed surprised. "He's a player that does have the same quality as the players that have been called up. The only thing I would say to the French Federation is they should be careful because he might be able to play for England." Pochettino would be correct. The Frenchman, who joined Southampton in 2008, is now eligible to play for England. So, if Schneiderlin expressed an interest in playing for England, should the FA allow him to be picked?

The debate was raised earlier in the season when Adnan Januzaj made his debut for Manchester United and scored a brace. Januzaj was yet to pledge his allegiances to a country and the English press were quick to point out that he could play for England. Instead of celebrating a highly successful debut, Januzaj was involved in a huge argument over whether a foreign player should be allowed to play for England. Over the years, other players have also been involved in the debate. When Manuel Almunia was Arsenal's number one and England lacked a goalkeeper, around the same time Mikel Arteta was being mentioned as a player eligible to play for the Three Lions. Almunia stated an interest, while Arteta was more focused on playing for Spain, but both were met with dismay by English football fans.

England have had players born in other countries represent the national team before. Wilfried Zaha was born in the Ivory Coast, Owen Hargreaves in Canada and the most famous example, John Barnes. Yet these players all had either blood links or moved to England when they were young. What separates them from the likes of Schneiderlin, Januzaj and Arteta, is that they didn't represent a country after they moved to the country to play football. The main argument, however, is that a lot of other countries seem to be adopting players. Cacau is not exactly stopping the presses, but the Brazilian born striker has made 23 appearances for Germany. Deco is a very famous example, he was also born in Brazil and then played for Portugal after five years residence. His inclusion initially was met with huge opposition by Portuguese fans, but 75 caps later there was little argument.

So the question is, if a player wholeheartedly states he wants to represent England then why shouldn't he? Comment below to join the debate.