EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Nketiah close to switching international allegiance to Ghana

[caption id="attachment_1345229" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Eddie Nketiah[/caption]Crystal Palace striker Eddie Nketiah is on the verge of switching his international allegiance from England to Ghana, with the required paperwork being prepared for submission to FIFA, Ghanasoccernet.com can reveal.The 27-year-old is understood to have made significant progress towards committing his international future to the Black Stars, with documentation now being put together for FIFA's consideration.Nketiah has long been eligible to represent Ghana through his family background and has previously been approached over a possible switch.The former Arsenal forward's proposed move would be a major boost for Ghana as the Black Stars look to strengthen their attacking options for upcoming international competitions.Nketiah has recovered from a knock and has established himself as a regular under new Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage.He started Palace's 3-2 comeback victory against Fulham on 5 September, providing the assist for Tyrick Mitchell's first goal.Despite making a senior appearance for England, Nketiah remains eligible to change association under FIFA's regulations because his only senior cap came in a non-competitive fixture.He made his England debut in a friendly against Australia in October 2023, but has not been selected for the senior side since.FIFA regulations allow a player to change association in certain circumstances where their senior international appearances have come exclusively in non-competitive matches.A formal change of association must, however, be approved before the player can represent the new national team. FIFA says players whose requests are still under consideration cannot represent either national team until a decision has been made.Nketiah enjoyed a prolific career with England's youth teams, particularly at Under-21 level, where he became the Young Lions' all-time leading goalscorer with 16 goals.His failure to establish himself in the senior England set-up has kept the possibility of a move to Ghana alive, despite previous uncertainty over his international future.Ghanaian authorities have been interested in Nketiah for several years, with his father confirming in June that officials from the Sports Ministry and other stakeholders had previously approached the family about the possibility of the striker representing the Black Stars.Nketiah's switch, if approved by FIFA, would add another experienced attacking option to Ghana's squad and bring an end to a long-running question over which country he will represent at senior level.The Crystal Palace forward would become eligible for selection by Ghana once the change of association is formally approved.He has so far made three appearances for Crystal Palace with an assist to his credit.