Ipswich striker David Johnson has been thrown an international lifeline by Wales.

Mark Hughes, who is expected to be officially named as Wales coach tomorrow, wants Johnson to spearhead his World Cup campaign.

And the Town forward - with 13 goals this season - has been handed an open invitation by the Southampton striker to pledge his international future to Wales.

Hughes, who played in Saints' 1-0 win at Portman Road in the FA Cup on Tuesday, said: "I haven't spoken to David personally but the ball's in his court. If I am lucky enough to be given the job to manage Wales then I will want David Johnson as part of my squad.

"I didn't get time to speak with him after the FA Cup tie but I did want to have a quick chat with him about his future.

"He is a quality player and anyone in charge of their national team must look to bring in that type of person for their team."

If Johnson - who has been capped by Jamaica and England B - is selected, it will mean Hughes is prepared to break the gentleman's agreement between the four home nations in a bid to bring success to his country.

Johnson, who was born in Jamaica and has a British passport, was forced to pull out of Scotland's Euro 2000 squad to face England when details of the agreement which deals with players born outside of the home nations emerged.

The agreement revealed if one of the player's parents was born in one of the home countries then they can only play for that team or the country of their birth.

That means Johnson can only play for England or Jamaica but according to FIFA regulations Johnson can still adopt any of the four home nations.

A spokesman for world football's governing body said: "As far as we are concerned Johnson can play for any of the four home countries.

"The gentleman's agreement between the home nations is not a matter for FIFA to get involved in and is not a matter for us to resolve.

"David Johnson has yet to play a competitve match for any of the countries for which he is eligible to play and that makes him a free agent."

Johnson scored in a friendly for Jamaica against the USA in September but returned to England complaining of jet-lag before Town's game at Portsmouth.

Ipswich manager George Burley encouraged him to play for Scotland but he opted for Wales before a dramatic u-turn in November.

He turned up at Prestwick Airport after negotiations with Craig Brown to announce his decision to join the Scotland squad for the Euro 2000 qualifier against England.

David Johnson - still eligible to play for any of the four home nations.

Picture: STEVE BRADING

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.