KINGSTON, Jamaica — Steve McClaren, head coach of the Reggae Boyz, insists that Marseille FC player Mason Greenwood wants to be part of the team, and he is hopeful that the former Manchester United player will join the squad by March next year.

McClaren addressed members of the media at Saturday’s press conference, where he announced the 23-man squad for the Concacaf Nations League quarter-final tie against the USA, urging patience with the process of acquiring the prolific goal scorer.

“I’ve heard a lot of publicity about and always around Mason Greenwood,” he said, “I am constantly in touch with Mason, the message is always the same, ‘when the time is right’.”

Recent reports from England suggest that the 23-year-old, who made one senior appearance for England as a substitute against Iceland, hopes to speak with the newly appointed England coach Thomas Tuchel to gauge any potential for his playing for the ‘Three Lions.’

READ: Mason Greenwood to speak with England boss before making Reggae Boyz switch— reports

Greenwood, who is eligible to switch allegiance to the Caribbean island through his Jamaican-born father, was excluded from several England teams following his highly publicised arrest on assault charges in January 2022. All charges were dropped a year later due to “the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light.”

McClaren, who is familiar with Greenwood from their time together at Manchester United, said, “You’ve got to think he’s had a traumatic time the last two years in his contract, and he’s been on loan. He’s been here, he’s been there – the publicity, and I think he just wants to settle in at Marseille and enjoy his football, which he’s doing, and he wants to join the Reggae Boyz. I know that, every time I speak to him, I’ve no reason to doubt that, and the process goes on.”

After Greenwood missed an earlier opportunity to join the Jamaican team, McClaren stated, “I didn’t expect it to be, once you missed the first camp, any of these camps, but I’m hoping by March time we will have made progress on everything. As I said, our whole project and process is about World Cup qualification, and that’s still, I know, on the horizon, but it’s still something that we’re thinking about now and planning for in the long term. So Mason, we keep an eye on and keep you posted on that.”

-Paul A Reid