Former Arsenal transfer target Houssem Aouar switches nationality from France after making one cap

EX-ARSENAL transfer target Houssem Aouar has switched nationalities after earning one cap for France.

The Lyon midfielder, 24, started for Didier Deschamps' side in a 7-1 friendly win over Ukraine in October 2020.

But he has not received any minutes for the national team since then and failed to make France's squads for the Euros or World Cup.

Now he has opted to switch allegiance and represent Algeria - the country where both his parents were born.

It comes on the eve of the March international break.

However, it remains unclear whether or not he will be selected this month as he continues his recovery from injury.

Algeria qualified for back-to-back World Cups in 2010 and 2014, reaching the last-16 of the latter before being eliminated by Germany.

Since then, they have failed to reach the finals of the last two tournaments.

But they have enjoyed recent success at the Africa Cup of Nations, claiming their second title in 2019.

Meanwhile, Aouar's club situation is still unclear.

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The Lyon man was heavily linked with a move to both Arsenal and Liverpool in the summer.

However, he ended up staying put and is now set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

are reporting that Napoli, Roma, Real Betis and Eintracht Frankfurt are all interested in him.