Arsenal linked Lyon forward Nabil Fekir has revealed that France national team coach Didier Deschamps played an important role in him choosing to represent Les Bleus at international level.
The 21-year-old’s international future has been a constant source of speculation for a few weeks now and it was claimed last week that Fekir has decided to play for his native Algeria.
But in a surprising turn of events, it emerged yesterday that the Lyon forward has had a change of heart and he has decided to ignore Algeria in favour of representing France on the international stage.
The Algerian FA are furious with Fekir’s decision and believe Lyon had a role to play in him choosing France over his native country.
However, the youngster indicated that Lyon had very little to do in his decision and said that it was Deschamps who convinced him to play for Les Bleus. He is keen to represent France at Euro 2016 and said that the decision was taken with an eye on his best interests.
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“Yes, I confirm, France are my choice”, Fekir told L’Equipe.
“I spoke with Didier Deschamps and he was very convincing. He said that he was counting on me and that I was an important player for him.
“This is a significant year as we are close to Euro 2016 [in France] and I really want to play in that tournament. I am French of Algerian origin and I feel it was in my interest to opt for France.”
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