While Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones this week completed multi-million pound transfers to Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, their England Under-21 team-mate Fabrice Muamba is trying to figure out how to undertake a much less glamorous but potentially far more rewarding trip. The Bolton midfielder wants to go back to the land of his childhood. The problem, he says, is that doing so could lead to his death.

Muamba was born in Kinshasa in 1988, when the country now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo was called Zaire and ruled by the kleptocrat President Mobutu Sese Seko. Muamba's father, Marcel, worked as an adviser to the then-prime minister and, as such, was perceived by forces intent on toppling Mobutu as a foe to be eliminated. Those forces gathered strength in the early 90s and in view of the threats against him, the father fled, first to the home of his brother, Ilunga, who was later killed for sheltering him, and then to England, where he was eventually granted asylum.

In 1994, three years before Mobutu was ousted, Marcel Muamba's wife and 11-year-old son, Fabrice, were allowed to join him in London. "If I had stayed, they would have seen us as an easy target to get information from the regime people, to use it against us," the son says now. His arrival meant deliverance from danger, but it also entailed adapting to an alien world. Fabrice, fluent in Lingala and French, did not have even a smattering of English.

He was determined to thrive. He rapidly learned the language and eventually graduated with A levels from school in Walthamstow, north London. He also, of course, excelled at football and signed for Arsenal as a teenager before being sold to Birmingham City in 2007. In 2008 Bolton bought him for £5m, confirming his reputation as one of the most promising defensive midfielders in the Premier League.

He is, presumably, financially secure for life. Yet great danger lies ahead. He hopes, at some point, to return to Congo "out of curiosity ... and to see if there's anything I can do to help in any way ... at the end of the day it is where I was born".

If he does travel back he will have to do so incognito, for the threat from his father's old political rivals is still alive. That is why, he says, the few members of the extended Muamba family who still live in Congo have moved to other areas and live under assumed names. "They did it in order to be safe," he says.

The continuing threat is also one of the reasons why the player who is uncapped by the England senior team and therefore eligible to play for the land of his birth, rejected an invitation to represent Congo last summer. Some people, he says, might have seen the call-up as a chance to do away with him.

"They asked me at the beginning of the season because there was a new manager, but because of my family situation back home, it is difficult for me to go back," he says. "They would see me as an easy target, to get rid of me. I can go back but I have to do it secretly."

The other reason that he turned down the invitation is that he feels indebted to the nation that gave him succour, and also a part of it. "This is my adopted country," he says. "People have helped me, welcomed me with open arms and given me this opportunity. I'm earning a more than decent living and leading a comfortable life. I'm very appreciative of that. When I hear the national anthem [before a match] I just think about how far I have come. English people have helped me and I feel part of it."

In the course of this European Championship in Denmark Muamba, now on 30 caps, is likely to become the second most-used England Under-21 player, behind James Milner. The fairytale ending to an extraordinary story, at least in football terms, would be to emulate him and graduate to the seniors.

Fabio Capello has shown no signs of summoning him, however, but Muamba has learned never to abandon hope. "When I look back on my journey, I can see how lucky I am. I'm not the most talented footballer, but I know what I can do. What I have experienced is what keeps me going and gets me out of whatever difficulty I face. I just set myself up to give it my best shot."