Promising Southampton and Australian midfielder, George Mells, has linked up with the Greek U17s as they prepare to take on the Ukraine U17s this Wednesday.

It’s believed the FFA have been made aware of the 16 year old’s decision to play for Greece in this friendly match. With no current Australian commitments, it represents a good opportunity for the young player to not only get some valuable experience but also have the chance to impress anyone who might be watching.

Mells, who has already represented Australia in two tournaments and in more than half a dozen games, is said to be looking forward to the challenge of playing with and against some top quality players in his age group. Any thoughts of the former Chelsea player turning his back on Australia should be expelled though as he remains hopeful of representing Australia if he’s ever called up in the future.

George joins the likes of Paul Katsetis (Greece & Catania), Panos Armenakas (Greece & Watford), James Demetriou (Cyprus & Nottingham Forest), Ajdin Hrustic (Bosnia & FC Schalke 04), Cameron Burgess (Scotland & Fulham) and Reno Piscopo (Italy & Inter Milan) to take advantage of their dual nationalities to play international football.

It’s often not received well back home when people hear of young players representing the countries of their heritage. It must be remembered though that they are all well aware that under the international rules that doing so will not rule them out of playing for Australia in the future. Current Socceroos Rhys Williams and Tim Cahill as well as Shane Lowry and Neil Kilkenny have represented other nations in their youth before pledging their allegiance to Australia’s senior national team.

http://footballcentral.com.au/mells-accepts-call-up/