Gedion Zelalem Called Up by Germany U18s in Fight for Arsenal Starlet

In what may prove to be a last-ditch effort to secure the services of 18-year-old phenom Gedion Zelalem, the German national soccer team has called up the Arsenal product for its upcoming U18 camp and friendlies against France.  

According to Joe Prince-Wright of ProSoccerTalk, Die Mannschaft are making a play for Zelalem despite the fact that he is on track to become eligible to join the United States.

Zelalem has yet to accept or decline Germany's invitation, but his decision will not have any impact on his ability to play for Team USA moving forward, per Prince-Wright.

According to Ives Galarcep of Goal.com, the United States believes it will be able to secure the German-born starlet:

In fact, Team USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann already feels as though Zelalem could be ready to play for the senior team right now, per Brian Sciaretta of AmericanSoccerNow.com:

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Definitely, I would like to see him with me first. I want to see how he interacts with the group and what level he’s at. (After that), it's totally in the open to have him play with the U-23s or with the U-20s for (head coach) Tab (Ramos). But he's a special case. I think he's already at a level where he can definitely play on the senior team.

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Zelalem has a tough choice to make moving forward as he can either go with the soccer power that is Germany or perhaps receive more immediate and significant opportunities with the United States.

He seemingly has the potential to be one of the best players in the world, which means neither Germany nor the United States will give an inch in their pursuit of him.

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