Real Madrid 17-year-old right-back set for senior Morocco debut

Real Madrid can now add another nationality to their impressive list of international players. The club's promising young 17-year-old full-back,Achraf Hakimi, who plays his football with the Under-18s, has joined up with the Morocco squad for their two 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Cape Verde.

The defender was involved in the FIFA underage player investigation, which led to the club's transfer ban, despite spending his entire life in his Getafe (Madrid) neighbourhood and playing for his local club, Colonia Ofigevi, from the age of six. From there he joined Real Madrid's youth set-up, where he has now spent the last ten seasons. That is more than half of his life.

The Moroccan Football Federation's man in Spain, Rabie Takassa, has been following the player's progress closely. "I discovered him in 2010 and I've been keeping an eye on him since then. We've spoken with him regularly and the federation's technical director travelled to Madrid to see him... We've outlined our project, which is very competitive, and I don't think he's ever had any doubts", he told MARCA. Not even when Spain approached him to play with their Under-19s in November.