It’s pretty common in the modern game to see players being eligible to represent two or more countries at international level, and you can be sure that significant efforts will be made to secure a commitment as soon as a young player starts to show some talent.
Michael Olise has handled the step up from Reading to Crystal Palace with ease, and it now appears that international recognition could be the next step for the talented midfielder.
He has represented France at U18 level but is also eligible to play for England as he was born in Hammersmith, and the Daily Mail have indicated that Gareth Southgate is already pushing hard to get him to commit to England.
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It could be a tough task as the report indicated that he’s currently leaning towards playing for France after representing them at youth level, while he’s also eligible to play for Nigeria and Algeria through his parents but neither appears to be in the running to secure him at this stage.
At this stage, he’s unlikely to push into either senior team so this could be a case of getting the 20-year-old to play for the U21s before stepping up eventually, but it’s also claimed that he’s attracting interest from Chelsea and Arsenal so it’s pretty clear that he could be capable of playing for either country very soon.
Both midfields are stacked with talent but his versatility also suggests he has a definite future at international level, but it does look like Southgate’s efforts might not be enough if he’s leaning towards France.