The forward, now at Dagenham and Redbridge, has explained he was eligible for Scotland through his grandmother on his dad's side.

And then Scotland manager Alex McLeish had called the striker to draft him in for the qualifying campaign for the European Championships in 2008.

Carroll, as he writes in his Owning It: In My Own Words autobiography, was set to travel to Glasgow by train but had a change of heart and called McLeish to tell him he wasn't going to join the squad.

The striker would go on to move from Newcastle to Liverpool for £35m in 2011 before turning out for West Ham, Reading, West Brom, Amiens and Bordeaux.

Carroll wrote: “I don’t know how they found out my dad’s ma was Scottish. But when I was still a teenager, I was asked to play for Scotland during the qualifying for the 2008 European Championships, when Alex McLeish was manager.

“Being young and naive, I said yes, before actually giving it some proper thought. The idea of international football thrilled me, but I didn’t feel Scottish in any way. I hadn’t grown up dreaming of scoring in a World Cup final for Scotland.

“I had dreamt about doing it for England. And 100 caps for Scotland wouldn’t have meant anything compared to one cap for England. So just as I was about to get on the train to take me up to Glasgow, I rang Alex and told him I wasn’t coming after all.”

On making his debut for England in 2010, Carroll reflected: “England didn’t come calling until 2010, but I am glad I waited. That was the right thing to do.”