Plenty of speculation has surrounded the international future of Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar since failing to build upon his 2020 debut for the France national team in a friendly and now reports are indicating that the 24-year-old is taking steps to switch allegiance to Algeria. France 24 in Arabic along with DZ Foot report that Aouar as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers left back Rayan Aït-Nouri have submitted letters of engagement with the Algeria setup to formally begin the process towards a switch. Both players previously represented France at the youth national team level making the paperwork a necessary part of the process.
Aouar has had an injury plagued 2022-23 season for Lyon but has started the last three matches as he returns to full fitness. Aït-Nouri represents another promising catch for the Fennecs at the left back position as the 21-year-old’s role continues to grow at struggling English Premier League side Wolves. Algeria’s next match is an international friendly against Sweden later in November.