Lamine Yamal to be offered chance to switch international allegiance
- Yamal has made two appearances for Spain
- Teenage winger has pulled out of the latest squad through injury
- Morocco remain keen to secure Yamal's allegiance
By Tom Gott
Morocco remain keen to convince Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal to switch his international allegiance from Spain.
Yamal is eligible to represent both nations but opted to play for Spain earlier this season, and he has already made two appearances for Luis de la Fuente's side, becoming both the youngest player and goalscorer in team history when he scored on his debut against Georgia in September.
The 16-year-old will have to wait for the chance to add to that tally after being forced to withdraw from the latest international squad through injury, but according to AS, his absence has piqued the interest of Morocco once again.
FIFA rules dictate that players can switch international allegiance as long as they have made fewer than three appearances for one nation before the age of 21 and have not played for the initial nation for at least three years.
As such, Yamal needs just one more appearance for Spain before he is permanently unable to commit to Morocco, and the African nation are understood to remain in contact with the Barcelona winger in an attempt to convince him to switch.
The report even claims that Yamal has received a "financial offer" from Morocco to seal his allegiance, but the player's wish is, and always has been, to represent Spain.
Yamal has been part of Spain's youth setup for years, climbing up through the age groups before making his senior debut in September 2023.
While he will miss the upcoming fixtures against Scotland and Norway through injury, Yamal is likely to earn that third cap during the international break that follows, with De la Fuente set to name a fresh squad in November.
Yamal's fitness concern is not believed to be significant but he will now get extra time to rest and recover ahead of a tricky run of fixtures for Barcelona, who have meetings with Athletic Club, Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid to look forward to before the end of the month.
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