Arsenal star offered chance to switch international allegiance before World Cup

Colombia are trying to convince Arsenal centre-back Cristhian Mosquera to switch international allegiance ahead of next summer's World Cup finals.

The talented 21-year-old was born in Alicante, Spain to Colombian parents but has represented La Roja at youth team level since U15s. He also holds a Colombian passport.

While he was briefly part of Spain training in September, he is yet to have made a senior appearance for the national team and Colombia are now looking to make a fresh push for his services.

The Colombian Football Federation came close to twisting Mosquera's arm back in 2023 when he was still playing for Valencia.

He was offered the chance to play in the U20 World Cup but he politely declined and instead continued to feature for Spain's U19 side.

Now Colombia are willing to offer him a route straight into their senior squad for the World Cup and that could prove tempting given Mosquera has frequently been overlooked by Spain boss Luis de la Fuente.

At this moment in time, there are a number of other centre-backs ahead of him in the pecking order and there is every chance he could miss out on a World Cup spot.

Dean Huijsen, Pau Cubarsi, Dani Vivian, Robin Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte are blocking Mosquera's pathway into the Spain side.

When asked about the prospect of pledging his international future to Colombia, Mosquera recently provided a cryptic answer, stating: "What depends on me is working day by day and the doors will open."

He currently captains Spain's U21 side which suggests a call-up is not too far away. Real Madrid defender Huijsen was forced to withdraw from the national team squad for World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria due to a muscle injury.

But instead of selecting Mosquera, who has made an excellent start to life in the Premier League with the Gunners, ex-Manchester City centre-back Laporte was summoned.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation are said to be optimistic Mosquera will stick to the plan and continue to represent Spain as they feel he has a big future with La Roja.

He has made four starts in all competitions so far this season for Arsenal and the Gunners have kept clean sheets in three of those matches.

Although he was substituted off at half-time away to Newcastle, Mikel Arteta has already said on record that he's been hugely impressed by the way Mosquera has fitted into his side so seamlessly.

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