Michail Antonio has reportedly decided his international future lies with Jamaica despite recent calls for the West Ham striker to be named in Gareth Southgate's England squad.
As reported last month by football.london the forward was considering an approach to represent the country of his parent's birth after a three-year absence from the England set-up.
Antonio was first called up by England under Sam Allardyce in 2016, however, as an unused substitute, his international future was still up in the air. Southgate selected Antonio for the Three Lions in 2018 but the striker was unavailable for selection due to injury.
Antonio had previously turned down a request from the Jamaican FA to pledge his allegiance to the 'Reggae Boyz' but following a second request the striker is believed to have changed his mind and will turn out for the Caribbean island in the near future, according to Sky Sports.
The report added that his decision was led by his belief that he will have more opportunities of playing time with Jamaica as they bid to end a 24-year absence from the World Cup.
Whilst David Moyes respected the decision was Antonio's alone to make, the West Ham manager was clear in his hope for an England recall to avoid the extra travel.
"In no way am I saying him choosing Jamaica would be a bad choice because I’m not saying that," said Moyes. "But, slightly for selfish reasons, if he was selected for England it would mean he has less travelling than if he does choose to go to Jamaica.
"At the moment, I just want him to keep playing well for us and the big thing will be for him to keep fit and in a good physical condition."
Jamaica are due to take on the USA in a friendly in Austria on March 25, a fixture that is likely to come too soon for Antonio to make his Reggae Boyz debut.
The Jamaicans hope is to have Antonio available for the start of their World Cup qualification campaign in September.
Antonio is not the only English-born player of Jamaican descent that could be in the Jamaica line-up in the future.
Jamaican FA Chairman Rickets told SportsMax TV that a number of other English-based players were in the process of obtaining international clearance to represent the Caribbean island.
These players included Ivan Toney, Nathan Redmond, Mason Holgate, Max Aarons and Demarai Gray, who could join former Hammer Ravel Morrison and Bundesliga star Leon Bailey in the Jamaican gold before the year is out.
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