Bellarabi not focusing on Ghana, Morocco interest

Bayer Leverkusen attacker Karim Bellarabi wants to focus on his club football amid reports that Morocco and Ghana are both keen to secure his international future.

Bellarabi, 24, got Leverkusen off to a flying start in the Bundesliga when he scored only nine seconds into the new campaign, before setting up team-mate Stefan Kiessling to seal a 2-0 victory at Borussia Dortmund.

Another goal, and another assist, followed against Hertha Berlin the next week, securing his side’s second win of the season and sending them to the top of the table.

There has been speculation that Bellarabi, a former Germany under-21 international, could receive a call-up from Nationalmannschaft coach Joachim Low in the near future.

However, Morocco are also hoping to secure the attacker’s international future alongside Ghana, Bild reported on Monday.

Bellarabi is the son of a German mother and a Moroccan father, but also has a Ghanaian step-father, making him eligible to play for the Black Stars as well.

“It’s true, Karim is on our list, and we would love to have him in the national team — if possible, for the African Nations Cup in January 2015,” Ghana Football Association spokesman Ibrahim Sannie is quoted as saying by Bild.

Ahead of the new campaign, after returning from a loan stint at Eintracht Braunschweig, Bellarabi was close to leaving the club once again, only for new Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt to opt to keep the player.

“A week into preseason, coach Roger Schmidt told me that Karim is going nowhere and staying,” sporting director Rudi Voller was recently quoted as saying by Spox.

However, Bellarabi also spoke to the paper, saying: “Right now, my focus is solely on Leverkusen.”