Arnaut Danjuma hopes that his transfer from Bournemouth from the Championship to Europa League winner Villarreal will also open a door to the Dutch national team. The attacker, son of a Dutch father and a Nigerian mother, played two matches for the the Dutch in 2018, but can possibly still opt for an international career with Nigeria.
“I think I have a better chance of being called up to the Dutch national team again if I assert myself at Villarreal. That is certainly a goal,” admits the attacker, who left for Villarreal for more than twenty million euros, in conversation with the NOS. An international career for Nigeria is a serious option for Danjuma in the distant future. “Yes, of course. I have it to be honest: at a certain point the measure is full.”
Danjuma, 24, refers to a possible lack of an invitation to the Dutch national team in the future. A Nigerian adventure is now out of the question for him. “I have always consciously chosen the Dutch national team and I would really like to play for the Dutch again. But of course I can’t wait until my thirties to do that. I also really want to play football as an international and experience a major world tournament.”
“If you can’t do that somewhere, then you should look for your happiness elsewhere, I think.” Under FIFA rules, players are only allowed to switch countries if they did not play a final tournament with their former country and the last international match for the former country is more than three years ago. In October 2018, Danjuma played the international matches against Germany and Belgium and even made his first goal in the Dutch. Then it got quiet.
At Bournemouth, Danjuma had 17 goals and 8 assists in 37 official games in the past football season. The attacker can look forward to playing in the Champions League: Villarreal qualified for the billion-dollar ball by last season at the expense of Manchester United’s tournament to win the Europa League.