US Soccer Federation Applies for FIFA Eligibility for Gedion Zelalem

United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati officially announced on Tuesday that U.S. Soccer has started the FIFA process to ensure new U.S. citizen and Arsenal youngster Gedion Zelalem will be eligible to play for the USMNT:

The 17-year-old, who was born in Germany but played six years of youth soccer in the Washington D.C. area before moving to the Gunners, finalised his naturalisation process on Monday, according to The Washington Post's Steven Goff.      

The player's father shared his thoughts on the situation:

Zelalem will remain eligible to play for Germany and Ethiopia, the birth country of his family. He follows in the footsteps of other youngsters with the dual nationality who have picked the USMNT in recent years, like Julian Green and John Brooks.

While those two players were exciting additions to the team, Zelalem's potential is on a whole other level, as shared by The Cauldron's Andy Glockner:

USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann also shared his praise of the young player:

The teenager is regarded as arguably the top prospect in Arsenal's youth setup, displaying incredible vision and technique for such a young central midfielder. He still needs to develop his physique to keep up with the senior game, but he has the long-term potential to be a veritable superstar.

Zelalem presents a massive capture for Klinsmann and U.S. Soccer, and while July's CONCACAF Gold Cup will likely come too soon for the youngster to make a real impact, don't be surprised if he is called up and receives his first minutes in garbage time to ensure he will be a member of the USMNT for life.