Three words: Ben Brereton Diaz. If you’ve been living under a rock and not heard one of the best FM-related stories in the past 12 months, the story of how Blackburn Rovers Striker Ben Brereton went from the Nottingham Forest academy to becoming the face of Pepsi in Chile and scoring for the Chilean International side in the Copa America is straight out of the FM book of dreams. After briefly mentioning that his mother is from Chile in a matchday programme interview for Blackburn, Football Manager researcher Mark Hitchin subsequently added Chile as Brereton’s second nationality and it was from here that the wheels were set in motion. A Twitter campaign by Chilean content creator Koke (@ChileanToon) drew the attention of the Chilean National authorities, and before long Ben Brereton became Ben Brereton Diaz and the rest as we know is history.
More recently we have also seen another Englishman pledge a new international allegiance with Aston Villa defender Matty Cash having just made his full debut for Poland after successfully obtaining his passport through qualification on his mother’s side. Cash has had a rapid ascent in recent years having never featured at underage level for England, and his form for Aston Villa means he now counts the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Piotr Zielinski and Arkadiusz Milik as international team mates. Not bad for a young lad from Slough right?
The release of FM22 brings about fresh opportunities for International Management enthusiasts to try and sway players to an alternative nation in-game before they declare or are capped for their primary nation. We last covered this in FM20 whereby the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli, Hossem Aouar, Josha Vagnoman and Harvey Barnes were all undeclared with second nationalities and while a few of those are yet to be declared or capped, a lot can happen in two years and we now have a fresh batch of undeclared players and wonderkids ready to be convinced to switch allegiances if you can charm them through the medium of Football Manager. Let the games begin.
Wesley Fofana (France → Mali / Ivory Coast)
Born in Marseille and capped for the France U21 side, Leicester’s €36m signing is eligible for not one but two African sides but the big question is - can you convince him to join the likes of Amadou Haidara and Yves Bissouma for Mali or alternatively a more tempting switch to Ivory Coast akin to Wilfried Zaha who followed a similar path? Considering he has to compete with the likes of Raphaël Varane, Presnel Kimpembe, Dayot Upamecano and Jules Koundé for a place in that France back line, it may not be as unlikely as you might think!
Conor Gallagher (England → Ireland / Scotland)
Arguably one of the most in-form players in the Premier League this season, Crystal Palace’s on-loan Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher has started this season like a house on fire, picking up six goals and and three assists in 15 games as well as impressing with his work rate, movement, ball progression and passing ability - so much so that he has just recently made his full England debut under manager Gareth Southgate. FM22 does not yet reflect this meaning the talented midfielder is eligible for both Ireland and Scotland at the start of a new save - can you tempt him either North of the border or across the Irish sea where his services would be much more valued and desired before the next data update renders him permanently declared for England?
Raphinha (Brazil → Italy)
Despite being capped 5 times for Brazil in real life since making his debut in August 2021, he remains uncapped and undeclared at the start of FM22 and more interestingly is eligible to play for European Champions Italy should an international stint with the Azurri take your fancy. Can you convince the in-form Brazilian to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Jorginho, Emerson and Rafael Toloi who now all boast a European Championship medal since switching allegiance?
Louie Barry (England → Ireland)
While Ireland’s striking options have slightly improved in the last couple of years through the likes of Adam Idah, Aaron Connolly and Troy Parrott - it’s fair to say that none of have yet shown a clear ability to emulate Ireland’s most successful and prolific goalscorer Robbie Keane. We love a bit of #narrative here at 5 Star Potential towers, and similar to how a 20-year-old Robbie Keane moved to Inter Milan from Coventry back in the year 2000, 2019 saw a 17-year-old Louie Barry also make the famed move abroad when he signed for Barcelona from West Bromwich Albion. His time at La Masia didn’t last as long as one might have hoped (he has since returned to England following a move to Aston Villa) - however despite already featuring for the England U18 team, he is still technically eligible to play for Ireland and should luck go your way there is always a small chance he might be tempted to turn out for the Boys in Green instead. Luck of the Irish right?
Michael Olise (France → England/Nigeria)
For some reason we rarely see “foreign” players declaring for England when the option is available - this writer’s mind drifts back to times when the likes of Carlo Cudicini, Manuel Almunia and Simone Perotta were linked with the England side due to potential eligibility - however with the exception of Owen Hargreaves who was born in Canada before joining the Bayern Munich academy at age 16, we are yet to see a more recent real-life example of a player completely switching allegiance to play for the English national side. Could Michael Olise be the one considering the ridiculous quality and pedigree available to the French authorities at present?
There you have it - if International Management is your thing or you enjoy Club & Country saves in Football Manager, then perhaps one of the above might sway you towards a particular country of choice in the hope that you can charm one of these guys to switch their allegiance. Honorable mentions must also go out to Tino Livramento (England - Portugal), Tariq Lamptey (England - Ghana), Jack Harrison (England - USA), Mohammed Ali-Cho (France - England) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (France - Algeria) all of whom are also eligible for an international switch at the start of FM22.
Did we miss anyone? Give it a go and let us know how you get on either in the comments below or on Twitter via @5StarPod!
Happy managing.
