Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has begun the formal process of switching his international allegiance from England to Ivory Coast, the country where he was born and spent the first four years of his life until 1996.
Such a move has been expected for some time, with fresh reports emerging only last week, but now the Ivorian national federation has confirmed that a letter from Zaha requesting a change of nationality has been submitted to FIFA to kick off the official proceedings.
The 24-year-old was in the company of his father, the president of the federation, Augustin Sidy Diallo, and national team coach, Michel Dussuyer, in London when he signed the letter.
Zaha arrived in England as a young child and has twice been capped at senior international level by the Three Lions. He remains eligible to represent Les Elephants because neither England appearance (Sweden, 2012 and Scotland, 2013), came in a competitive game.
It is the same rule which allowed Chelsea striker Diego Costa to switch allegiance from Brazil to Spain in 2014 and former Inter Milan midfielder Thiago Motta from Brazil to Italy in 2011.
Zaha hasn't been seen in the England setup since his move to Manchester United quickly turned sour and he's been rebuilding his career back at boyhood club Palace.
The news that the player is looking for an international career with Ivory Coast may come as a surprise to Palace manager Alan Pardew, though, as hewas talking up Zaha for a place in the England squad only a few days ago.
"I think Wilf is hoping that England come for him," Pardew said. "Personally, I think he's done more than enough to warrant a place. Look at the numbers. Even during this run his defensive work has been good, the assists are starting to rack up.
"He's had a chance at junior but not at senior level. There aren't many other English players who can beat players like he does in the Premier League. Some do, but they're not English."
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