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Sports Reporter
Zimbabwe Warriors defender Tendayi Darikwa says Arsenal forward Reiss Nelson would be embraced if he decides to switch allegiance to Zimbabwe.
Nelson is eligible to play for Zimbabwe owing to his father’s heritage and having not represented England at senior level yet.
The Zimbabwe Football Association has over the years been trying to lure the player who once played for England at youth level.
And Darikwa, who committed his international allegiance to Zimbabwe in 2017, said Nelson would be welcomed if he decided to represent the country of his father.
Darikwa, just like Nelson, was born in the United Kingdom but his parents are both from Zimbabwe.
“I think it’s a personal decision that someone has to make to switch allegiances or go and represent a certain country,” said Darikwa.
“We all know how capable and talented Reiss is as a footballer, and he can only improve our team and our country. We welcome Reiss to come and play for the Warriors. We’d love him to come but he needs to make the decision himself without getting pressure from people outside,” Darikwa told On The Whistle as quoted by KickOff.
The Nottingham Forest full-back started in Zimbabwe’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against African champions Algeria this past week.
Zimbabwe managed to collect a point to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Cameroon finals alive and Darikwa has admitted Nelson would be a major addition.
The Gunners academy graduate is highly regarded by head coach Mikel Arteta and with over 50 senior games at club level along with 21 goals in 37 caps for England at youth level – he represents one of the leading talents in the country.
“He’s played for England at youth level, if he wants to carry on playing for England, that’s fine but if he wants to play for Zimbabwe, we’ll welcome him together,” added Darikwa. Nhau/Indaba
