England are attempting to beat Scotland to Manchester United youngster Scott McTominay and could hand him the opportunity to play for the country of his birth as early as next month, sources have told ESPN FC.

The 21-year-old made his 16th senior appearance for United during Wednesday's Champions League round-of-16 tie against Sevilla in Spain after being named ahead of £89 million midfielder Paul Pogba in the starting lineup by Jose Mourinho.

United manager Mourinho spoke last week to warn England that they risked missing out on the Lancaster-born youngster and urged new Scotland coach Alex McLeish to hand McTominay a call-up.

Despite being born in England, McTominay qualifies for Scotland through his grandparents, but he has so far resisted attempts to persuade him to pledge his allegiance to the Scots, preferring instead to focus on establishing himself in the senior squad at Old Trafford.

Having not yet represented either Scotland or England at youth level, McTominay remains available to both countries and his progress at United has caught the eye of England U-21 coach Aidy Boothroyd this season.

And with interest in the player hotting up, sources have told ESPN FC that McTominay could be selected by England for next month's U21 international fixtures against Romania and Ukraine.

Scotland could make a counter move by calling McTominay up for the senior friendlies against Costa Rica and Hungary next month, but England are hopeful that the United midfielder can be persuaded to pledge his allegiance to them.