Angus Gunn: Why have Scotland turned to Norwich City's goalkeeper and who is he?

Angus Gunn has switched allegiance from England to Scotland

Steve Clarke pulled a rabbit out the hat as he sprung a rare surprise in his squad selection ahead of Scotland's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.

Faced with having to do without 74-cap stalwart Craig Gordon after the 40-year-old picked up a season-ending injury, the head coach has brought Angus Gunn into the firing line by persuading the Norwich City goalkeeper to turn his back on England and join up with the land of his father.

So who is Angus Gunn and why is the 27-year-old's Scotland call-up controversial for some?

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From England U21s to Norwich regular

Angus Gunn (left) helped England Under-21s beat their Scottish counterparts 3-1 in 2017

The name Gunn is no stranger to Scotland team lines in goal.

Much of Angus' father Bryan's footballing life was spent warming the Scotland bench in a previous golden era of Scottish goalkeepers dominated by Andy Goram and Jim Leighton.

Thurso-born Gunn Snr began his career as Leighton's Aberdeen understudy, but he would become a regular in England's top flight after his own transfer to Norwich.

It was while in Norfolk that he would have a son who would go on to progress through the academies at the Canaries and Manchester City.

However, it was an England jersey, up to under-21 level, that young Angus had been adorning by the time he returned to Norwich on loan.

The only ever-present that Championship season, Gunn was voted third behind James Maddison and Grant Hanley in the player of the season award and was called up by Gareth Southgate's to England's pre-2018 World Cup training camp.

A £10m transfer from City was no guarantee of regular starts after being sold to Premier League Southampton and he played only 30 times in three seasons at St Mary's before moving on again, following a loan spell to Stoke City, for half that fee back to Norwich in June 2021.

Even then, Gunn found himself second choice behind Tim Krul until the experienced Dutchman was injured in October. He has gone on to play 24 times this season.

So why the switch to Scotland?

Brynn Gunn played for Scotland and managed Norwich City

Gunn Snr is not only a former Norwich player and manager but an ex-team mate of Clarke's with Scotland. However, he insists that his son's decision to change his allegiance was "nothing down to me at all".

"Steve made the initial contact, met Angus and obviously told him he wanted him to be involved in the set-up, which was great for Angus to hear," he explained on BBC Radio Norfolk's The Scrimmage podcast. "He made his own decision.

"He's just got himself into the Norwich side and he's playing game after game.

"I think he just wants to build up those numbers and, when somebody asks you to play international football, it must be a great feeling as well."

Gunn guessed that Norwich's outfield Scotland duo - Hanley and Kenny McLean - will have also played a part and pointed out that there will be plenty of other familiar faces in the Scotland set-up.

Angus played with Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong at Southampton, while former Norwich goalkeeper Chris Woods and head of recruitment Tony Spearing are part of Clarke's back-room team.

Best save rate in Championship

Clarke is in the unusual position of heading into a new campaign with all three of his squad goalkeepers uncapped.

The statistics hint at why the head coach might be considering Gunn Jnr for a quickfire debut at home to Cyprus on Saturday and Spain three days later.

Although Norwich sit seventh in England's second tier, they have lost just once in eight outings and, while Gunn has only had five clean sheets this season, his 80 minutes per goal conceded is the highest of his career.

Indeed, his save rate of 74.7% in 22 Championship outings is the highest in the division for anyone with more than 10 appearances.

However, Gunn's "very proud" father is taking nothing for granted given he earned just six Scotland caps as Leighton and Goram amassed 134 between them.

"Hopefully he does well in training and makes his way on to the team sheet," he said. "I warmed the bench many times, so I'm hoping he doesn't have the same experience with Scotland that I had."

Gunn call 'hard to take'?

Liam Kelly, Angus Gunn and Zander Clark have zero caps between them

There was already much debate about who would succeed Gordon even before the Heart of Midlothian veteran suffered a double leg break in December.

He had been part of a long-established three-pronged safe pair of hands along with Rangers' Allan McGregor and David Marshall, now of Hibernian. However, Gordon's long-time rivals for the number one jersey have both called time on their international careers and there was bound to be speculation about when the Tynecastle legend might follow.

With Zander Clark having stepped up to become Hearts' new number one, the 30-year-old was expected by many to be the natural successor at international level too - or at least join recent Gordon understudies Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie in competing for a starting place.

Clark has been recalled, but, with Gunn there too at the expense of Rangers' McCrorie, it has left everyone - apart from head coach Clarke - guessing.

Former Scotland right-back Alan Hutton, for one, has sympathy for Clark and Motherwell's Kelly, saying "it would be hard for me to take" if he had found himself in a similar position.

"Obviously, if I am Kelly or Clark, I'm thinking, 'right, here's my opportunity to go and nail down the Scotland number one shirt - it is a fight between us two'," Hutton told BBC Scotland's Scottish Football Podcast.

Not surprisingly, Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell thinks his man should get the nod but suggests "it is just like club football when you sign a new player".

"It's the same mentality," he told BBC Scotland's Sportsound. "I would see it as a challenge for the other two to try to prove in the camp that you are a better goalkeeper."

Clarke's assessment will only become clear shortly before two o'clock on Saturday.