FA target overseas teens for England

THE FA are plotting moves for the best teenage foreign talent in England in the hope that they will one day play for the national team.

As it emerged that new manager Sam Allardyce checked out the availability of Steven Nzonzi, the French-born former Stoke and Blackburn midfielder, Sportsmail can reveal that FA scouts are targeting the best overseas players in England’s academies with a view to persuading them to pursue international careers with England.

Foreigners who have lived in the UK for five years or more would be eligible. The likes of John Barnes, Tony Dorigo and more recently Raheem Sterling, despite not qualifying to play for England at birth, all represented their adopted nation.

Players the FA are believed to have already looked at include West Ham midfielder Domingos Quina, 16, and Celtic’s Moussa Dembele, 20.

Quina has represented Portugal at junior level but having arrived in England in 2013 and signed for Chelsea as a 13-year-old, he would be available for selection in 2018. Dembele will complete five years as a UK resident in 2017.

Fifa’s eligibility rules have been exploited regularly in the past by England’s rivals.

Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose had distinguished careers with Germany, despite being born in Poland and having Polish heritage.

Chelsea’s Diego Costa and ex-Arsenal star Eduardo, both born in Brazil, represented Spain and Croatia respectively.