Arsenal takes look at Gedion Zelalem, a 14-year-old Ethiopian-German living in Washington

(08/21/2011, Washington Post)--A 14-year-old German with Ethio­pian roots and a U.S. green card who lives in the Washington area might have a future in England.

Gedion Zelalem trained with Arsenal at London Colney for 10 days this summer. Zelalem’s father said a plan is in place for his son, a central midfielder, to join the Gunners system full-time when he turns 16 in January 2013. Arsenal communications manager Dan Tolhurst told the Insider that Zelalem did join the club for workouts but no official agreement has been reached.

Zelalem plays for the Olney Soccer Club Rangers’ under-16 outfit. He’ll enroll at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md., next month and, as a freshman, plans to play for the varsity squad while continuing to compete for Olney.

Zelalem’s father is from Ethopia and in 1990 was granted asylum in Germany, where his son was born. Gedion was enrolled in Hertha Berlin’s youth program, his father said.

The family moved to the United States five years ago and settled in the Washington suburbs, where Gedion’s father works as a medical technician. Neither is a U.S. citizen. Gideon holds a German passport and speaks German fluently.

He did attend a U.S. youth camp in California this year. However, because he is not naturalized, he is unlikely to become eligible for the United States in the near future. His father would like him to represent Germany and has been working to make the German federation aware of his son’s ties. “It’s my dream,” said Zelalem Woldyes­­. Gedion’s mother died in 2005 and Woldyes has since re-married. “I want to say thank you to the country that helped me. I’m grateful to Germany.”  Read more from Washington post »

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