FLYING Cherries winger Arnaut Danjuma insisted he would have to think about his international allegiance, with Nigeria reportedly ready to swoop for his services.
The 24-year-old has represented the Netherlands twice at senior level, having played in a UEFA Nations League game against Germany as well as scoring in a friendly against Belgium.
A new rule approved by FIFA in September means players can switch nations, if they have played no more than three competitive games prior to them turning 21.
The Sun last month claimed Danjuma would be able to represent Nigeria. Danjuma was born in Lagos to a Dutch father and Nigerian mother.
And the Cherries forward revealed the Super Eagles may be “interested” if he continues to be overlooked by Holland.
He said: “I’ve heard some bits about Nigeria but I can’t say too much about it though.
“My mum is Nigerian and my father lived 23 years in Nigeria as well.
“The culture is still within the family, so it’s not disregard for the Nigerian side. It’s a choice I will think about but I need some time, obviously.
“I think they are interested but obviously I play for the Dutch national team already, I scored for the national team already, so I’ve made that decision.
“With the choice, I would like to represent Holland as well but then again I’m not being called up at the moment.
“So on the back of that, maybe I need to make some decisions.
“I’ve played for Holland at senior level. One cap in the Nations League and one against Belgium but that wasn’t an official match. They have changed the rules so, if you have one cap, you can still change.
“It isn’t a decision I can make just in a split second. I need to think about it.
“To be fair the club is the most important thing for me at the moment.
“I just want to make sure the club gets back into the Premier League and whatever happens with the national team that’s secondary to me to be honest.”
After scoring against Bristol City for Cherries back in October, Danjuma told the Daily Echo: “In my opinion, I’m one of the best strikers of Holland."
He further staked his claim to get in Frank de Boer’s squad by firing past Dutch stopper Tim Krul into the top corner in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Norwich.
Giving his thoughts on the situation, Cherries boss Jonathan Woodgate said: “For me, he should be in the Dutch squad but I don’t pick their squad. For me, he’d be in it because he’s that type of player that I like working with.
“The form he’s in at the minute – he can do what he wants because he’s starting to learn the defensive side of the game.
“That’s important for wingers these days. If you watch the top wingers in the world – look at (Sadio) Mane at Liverpool, how hard he works going back and forth and gets goals. Arnie is doing that.
“When your team is struggling. They’ve got their backs to the wall and it’s a 0-0 game – Arnie will just produce something out of nothing.
“He’s learning and he’s listening when you speak to him. That’s the most important thing.
“When you are giving people advice on what you want them to do, he listens, he wants to get better, so I’m pleased for him.”
Danjuma has netted 14 times in 32 games for Cherries this campaign.
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