The wait for former England international player Mason Greenwood to represent Jamaica continues as he was not named in the 23-man squad to face St Vincent and the Grenadines but Leon Bailey makes a return.

Englishman Steve McClaren announced his 23-man squad on Friday, March 14, and surprisingly, included nine local-based players to face St Vincent in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Qualifiers set for March 21 in St Vincent and March 25 in Kingston.

The 23-year-old Greenwood earned a single cap for England in a 1-0 UEFA Nations League triumph against Iceland in September 2020.

He is the second top scorer in the French league for Marseille FC with 15 goals behind Ousame Dembele of PSG who has 20.

Reggae Boyz team manager Roy Simpson told Our Today that the process is still ongoing.

“We continue to partner with his parents on finalizing the documents,” said Simpson.

Meanwhile, coach McClaren pointed out that Greenwood only wants to play for Jamaica.

“The ball is in his court. He knows that. He’s settling nicely despite some run ins recently. But he’s loving his football,” McClaren noted.

“We’re in contact all the time with him and his family and I’m very confident, that he only wants to play for Jamaica. So every conversation is, ‘I only want to play for Jamaica’, and it’s up to him when he wants to move forward with that,” he added.

Also missing will be Damion Lowe who is out with personal issues and several players who were ineligible due to injuries. They are Mikhail Antonio, Romario Williams, Di’Shon Bernard, Greg Leigh and Mason Holgate.

But McClaren welcomed back Leon Bailey who scored for Aston Villa in their Champions League triumph over Club Brugge last week along with captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake defender Ethan Pinnock, Demarai Gray, Shamar Nicholson and Bobby Reid.

“All experienced players and you know, we expect them to step up and see us through and get us into the Gold Cup,” said McClaren.

The nine local-based players are Shaquan Davis, Kyle Ming, Jahsaun Anglin, Sue-Lae McCalla (Mount Pleasant), Jamalie Waite, Richard King, Christopher Ainsworth (Cavalier), Tyreke Magee (Vere United) and Warner Brown (Arnett Gardens).

“It’s great that we can name nine local players and the reason for that, I think, is obviously injuries to come in the squad, but to give them opportunities,” McClaren noted. “The camp we had, a few weeks ago, the two games against Trinidad, the work for nearly five days with them gave me a great insight into the abilities, the characters, and I really enjoyed that camp, really enjoyed the two games and that has given me confidence in which I can put them in the squad and know that they will do the job.”

There is also a coaching staff change as assistant and goalkeeping coach Richard Hartis, is off to Turkish club Besiktas to join Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

McClaren has appointed Paul Simpson as his assistant coach having worked with him before at Derby County and Newcastle United. Simpson was also part of the English coaching staff that led England’s U-20 team to a World Cup title in 2017.

“It’s a year in which we’ve got a great opportunity, an opportunity not achieved since ’98 of qualifying for the World Cup and everybody has to be together,” said McClaren.

He continued: “And what I expect is, from the top to the bottom, I expect the JFF to provide us with the tools necessary to make sure that the players and the staff and everybody get the equipment and everything that we need to be able to achieve the goal of the World Cup 26.”

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Andre Blake, Shaquan Davis, and Jahmali Waite.

Defenders: Ethan Pinnock, Amar’i Bell, Dexter Lembikisa, Richard King, Kyle Ming, Christopher Ainsworth, Joel Latibeaudiere, and Fitzroy Cummings.

Midfield: Isaac Hayden, Jahshaun Anglin, Bobby Reid, Sue-Lae McCalla, Casey Palmer and Tyreke MaGee.

Forwards: Leon Bailey, Demarai Gray, Shamar Nicholson, Kaheim Dixon, Ronaldo Cephas and Warren Brown.