Earlier on Wednesday, we covered claims in Belgium that Roberto Martínez had given Patrick Struijk, currently at Leeds United, a phone call.
The Belgium manager had done so to ask the centre-back whether or not he would be interested in swapping allegiances, since the 21-year-old had previously represented the Netherlands’ U17s.
Born near Antwerp, Struijk was still eligible to play for his birth country, and he’s now decided to try and make that official, as DH report the Leeds man has asked to be nationalised as a Belgian, which has been confirmed by the Royal Belgian Football Association.
Furthermore, the Elland Road starter ‘has also asked for his Belgian passport to keep his chances of being selected’ by Roberto Martínez down the line.
It seems he might have given up hope of being picked by Frank de Boer, although this news could make him scramble in an attempt to block the switch.
We’ll have to wait and see, but it seems Struijk is open to playing for the Belgium national team, and with Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Vermaelen needing to be replaced, he could be the perfect man for the job.
