Lyon prodigy Nabil Fekir has decided to play for France at international level, according to a senior figure at the midfielder's club.
It was reported Fekir, 21, had opted to pledge allegiance to Algeria, the country of his family's origins, late last week after being called up by the north African nation's coach, Christian Gourcuff, for an upcoming brace of friendlies.
However, ahead of Sunday's Ligue 1 game with Montpellier, Fekir issued a press release on Lyon's official website stating he had not yet made a "definitive decision."
After the weekend's 5-1 win, in which Fekir scored twice to help keep Lyon top of the table and take himself into double figures for the season, former OL striker and coach Bernard Lacombe told media the young midfielder now hopes to wear the shirt of France, the country of his birth.
"Nabil called me I don't know which day of this week to tell me that he had changed his mind and that he wanted to play for France," Lacombe, who is now special advisor to Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, told L'Equipe.
"It's his choice, we didn't push him. He has had some difficult days. That's the life of every footballer."
Fekir is now widely expected to be named in the France squad for Les Bleus'upcoming fixtures against Brazil and Denmark when Didier Deschamps makes his selection public on March 19.
Fekir had been included in Gourcuff's squad to play Qatar and Oman at the end of this month after reportedly telling the former Lorient boss he would fulfil his family's dream of him playing for Algeria.
However, the young midfielder, who was virtually unknown at the start of the season, explained he had spoken to Gourcuff, but only to tell him he would not decide before the end of March.
Algeria FA president Mohamed Raouraoua told France Football he blamed Lyon for Fekir's about-turn.
"We called up Nabil Fekir because he had called Christian Gourcuff to tell him of his choice to wear the shirt of Algeria. He assured him he would be at the training camp in Doha," the FAF president claimed.
"We were surprised by the official press release published on the club's webstie, and that proves the club played a role in this affair."
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