Arsenal's 17-Year-Old Gedion Zelalem Becomes U.S. Citizen, Plans USMNT International Football Future

Jurgen Klinsmann and the United States Men's National Team will be adding one of the brightest prospects in International football in 2015 it seems. The Barclays English Premier League's German born Gedion Zelalem has become an American citizen this week, with the possibilities of playing for the U.S., German or Ethiopian (his family's homeland) national teams, but source say he wants to suit up for Klinsmann. Zelalem is currently signed with Arsenal FC through 2017 since making his debut in January of 2014, just a couple of days before his 17^th birthday.

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According to The Washington Post, the young player is now awaiting FIFA's approval of this nationality change. The publication says that this is a "perfunctory exercise."

While Zelalem can still play for Germany, the current world champions, or Ethiopia due to his parents' nationalities, reports claim that he has told his U.S. friends that he wants to commit to the USMT.

If Zelalem does get FIFA approval, he'll definitely be one of the top young prospects of the USMNT with the 2016 Olympics coming up and the 2018 World Cup tournament as well. Considering his other choices for international play, he'll most likely see much more time on the field with the United States than Germany, since they're the defending world champions with a solid squad already. Ethiopia isn't exactly a top choice, so the USMNT makes sense on that front.

FIFA is likely to approve this matter, making Zelalem one of the top stars of the USMNT in the coming years. What do you think of this news? Will Zelalem become a starter for the national team or will the Arsenal player ride the bench for a while? Let us know what you think of this soccer news in the comments section below!

We think we know how Klinsmann is reacting to this news ...