A European star has been confirmed as an African nation's newest recruit after his allegiance switch was finalised ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
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African football's biggest spectacle will soon be held in the Ivory Coast for the first time since 1984. Multiple teams will be eyeing continental glory in January 2024, and one side that will have a good chance of triumphing is Algeria.
The Desert Foxes won the competition for the second time in Egypt in 2019, but had a dismal showing in the next edition as they finished bottom of their group in 2022.
Now, though, it seems the north African giants are looking for redemption, and are recruiting some of their best talents from the diaspora to help them in their charge for a third AFCON star.
Head coach Djamel Belmadi has confirmed the arrival of Stade Rennais star Amine Gouiri to the Algerian national team from France.
"From an administrative point of view, we are not going to make any tongue-in-cheek: it's settled," the former Olympique Marseille midfielder stated, as per La Gazette du Fennec.
Gouiri is the latest France-born player to be welcomed to the Algerian national team, with his former Olympique Lyon teammate Houssem Aouar also recently committing his international future to the two-time African champions.
Unlike Aouar, however, the 23-year-old never donned the famous Les Bleus senior jersey, having most recently represented France at the U21 UEFA European Championship earlier this year, and was left out of manager Thierry Henry's latest Les Bleuets squad.
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The Algerian publication further reports that the nation's football association has now shifted its focus to recruiting highly rated Lyon attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki.
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