Parma midfielder Mandela Keita reveals he could have joined African nation prior to Belgian recall | OneFootball

Mandela Keita is back in the Belgian fold after a few years on the sidelines. The Parma midfielder reunited with his former head coach at Antwerp during the recent international window, with Mark van Bommel immediately including Keita in the squad. Keita had not been part of former Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia’s plans, but with van Bommel back, the 24-year-old has returned.

However, during his time out of the Belgian national team, another country came calling. Mandela is eligible to represent Guinea as well as Belgium, and the West African nation was keen to take advantage of his lack of opportunities with the Red Devils. However, in an interview with HLN, the Parma midfielder revealed that he never considered changing his international allegiance. Keita said ‘I have dual nationality and they contacted me. But my focus was always on the Red Devils. It never crossed my mind to switch‘. His decision to stay the course has now been rewarded with a return to the Red Devils set up.

During his time at Antwerp, Keita and van Bommel won the Belgian Pro League in 2023 alongside the Belgian cup. This season of success earned Keita a first Belgian call up that same year. However, Keita was then ignored by the Belgian national team until van Bommel was appointed. In that time, he left Belgian football to join Parma in Serie A. Since 2024, Keita has played 77 games for the Italian side, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

With the central midfield spot up for grabs at the moment, Keita will be hoping to earn his second cap when Belgium face Türkiye on Friday evening.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson