The Scottish Football Association will fight to convince 13-year-old Celtic midfielder Karamoko Dembele to pledge his international future to Scotland rather than England or Ivory Coast.
Dembele, who was born in London to Ivorian parents, made headlines earlier this month when he made his debut for Celtic's under-20 team despite his young age.
The midfielder, who moved to Glasgow at the age of five, has since been called into Scotland's U16 squad for the Victory Shield tournament but is reported to have spent time at England's St George's Park training centre recently.
Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan, speaking at the Glasgow Science Centre, said: "If you have talented players who are eligible for other countries then, clearly, they are always going to be attractive to other associations.
"We have to do what we can, and that is why he has been called into the Victory Shield squad. We will try to do everything we possibly can to bring him into the Scottish system."
Stewart Regan insists Karamoko Dembele's international future lies with Scotland https://t.co/7YnDgjkcAN
- The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) October 26, 2016
He added: "We want to make him feel wanted and valued and, certainly, Celtic are doing that. I visited the performance school at St Ninian's [Celtic's youth programme] a couple of weeks ago and saw the setup, which is magnificent. The attention he is getting as a young player is a fantastic opportunity.
"We can only do everything we possibly can in our power. Ultimately the choice will come down to the boy and his parents, but we will do all we can to make him a Scotland player."