Zimbabwe will try to convince Reiss Nelson to play for them, according to reports.

Nelson is currently an England u19 international, but qualifies for Zimbabwe through his father.

According to Kwese ESPN, Zimbabwe are hoping to convince Nelson to trade England for Zimbabwe in an attempt to boost their performances in international football.

Despite knowing how difficult it would be, Zimbabwe team manager Wellington Mupandare feels it’s worth a go.

“Yes, we are interested in Nelson but we are still trying to establish contact with him, so I can’t say much at the moment. We know that the player is highly rated in England and it will be difficult, but we will try our best,” he said.

Nelson was born in London and, as it stands, has a chance of progressing through the youth ranks and playing for the England national team one day. There are few competitive reasons to play for Zimbabwe, given they’re hardly a power in African football.

African nations frequently look for English-based players who have been born to African parents. Alex Iwobi, for example, chose to represent Nigeria despite playing for England at youth level.

Likewise, Chelsea’s Victor Moses also represents Nigeria, while Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha switched to the Ivory Coast even after making his England debut.

In recent years, Ghana have attempted to persuade Danny Welbeck to play for them, while Nigeria were hoping Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham would consider a switch as well.

Nelson has seven first-team appearances for Arsenal and could be a regular for many years to come. His chances of playing for England are pretty good.