Marc Guehi may have made his England debut on Saturday against Switzerland, but the Ivory Coast manager has not given up on persuading him to play for the country of his birth instead.
The defender played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 win over Switzerland at Wembley, in a back three alongside and Conor Coady.
He has also played at every youth level for the Three Lions from Under-16 to Under-21, having moved to England before his second birthday.
However, having not played a competitive match for England, he could still make the switch to Ivory Coast, where he was born, and Patrice Beaumelle, manager of the African country, is keen to tempt him over.
‘I have been following Marc for two years, since he was playing at Swansea,’ said Beaumelle. ‘I know he can still choose Ivory Coast so we are working on that.
‘I tried to contact him several weeks ago. But when I saw him in the English lists I understood that at the moment he wants to try with the Three Lions.
‘The choice has to come from the heart. He will make his own decision. He did well in his first cap for England.
‘Maybe we will try for the orange jersey of Ivory Coast – you never know. I will wait a few weeks and try to contact him to know if he is interested.’
Guehi’s Crystal Palace teammate Wilfried Zaha made two appearances for England before switching to play for Ivory Coast, who he has gone on to play 26 times for so far and will be involved this week at Wembley.
England and Ivory Coast meet in a friendly on Tuesday night and the 21-year-old Guehi will be hoping to get another chance to shine for the Three Lions and show the Elephants what they are missing.
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