Spain have moved to wrap up Leeds United striker Mateo Joseph, with him set to be the ‘big surprise’ call-up in their U21 squad on Friday.
That’s according to AS, who say Spain have moved to get the Leeds man and ensure he can’t play for England in future.
The newspaper reports that U21 manager Santi Denia has made the decision to call up the Leeds youngster to his squad for the clashes against Slovakia and Belgium in the next international break.
According to them the English FA have received a notification from the RFEF informing them that the Leeds striker has been called up by La Rojita and an ‘emergency nationalisation has been processed for him’ despite having already played with England’s U20 team.
In order for that to happen, Joseph had to renounce his Spanish nationality, as only citizens of Ibero-American countries, such as Andorra, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal are allowed to have dual nationality.
However, Spain have now moved to secure him for the future and UEFA have already processed his change of federations, meaning the Leeds youngster can only ever play for Spain even if he never features for the senior team.
Joseph has made it clear on several occasions he considers himself Spanish and wants to play for Spain and the RFEF were always aware of this, following his progress at Leeds closely.
They’ve now moved to make things definitive and he will be in the U21 squad on Friday, sealing his future with Spain and making him a ‘serious option’ for the team set to complete at the Olympics in Paris this summer.
