Manchester City midfielder Seko Fofana has rejected an international call-up from Ivory Coast, according to L’Equipe.
The 20-year-old, who is currently on loan at Bastia, is French-born and has played for Les Bleus at youth level but is eligible to be included in Ivory Coast’s squad because of his ancestry.
Michel Dussuyer was hoping to integrate Fofana in the squad of the reigning African Cup of Nations champions but the playmaker – who appeared twice for the Sky Blues in their pre-season tour of Australia – wants to focus on breaking into the French U21 squad for the European Championships next summer.
Fofana’s representative said:
Il veut se concentrer sur sa saison avec Bastia et sur les Espoirs français, avec l’Euro 2017 comme objectif.
Which translates to say: He wants to focus on the current season with Bastia and hopes to achieve his Euro 2017 objective [getting in the France squad]
Fofana, who has made 22 league appearances this season, has been likened to ex-Manchester City anchor Patrick Vieira and is highly-rated in his home country.
