Report: Abdoullah Ba set for international switch with World Cup qualifier debut on the horizon

Sunderland may lose Abdoullah Ba for January and February due to the African Cup of Nations, according to reports.

El Watan claim Ba is one of a number of players to declare allegiances to Mauritania and will feature for the country during the upcoming World Cup qualifiers later this month and then African Cup of Nations which begins on January 13.

The report claims that as well as Ba, Sheffield Wednesday’s Didier Gassama, Mamadou Fofana of Amiens, and Sint-Truiden’s Aboubakary Koita - who is the second in the goalscoring charts this season in the top flight of Belgium - have all decided to declare for Mauritania.

Ba had been featuring regularly for France’s youth teams all the way up to u-20 level.

Adil Aouchiche has also been mentioned as a potential call up for Algeria, with DZFoot claiming that the player would be willing to switch from France, although he’s not currently expecting a call.