Tab Ramos must figure out where Gedion Zelalem fits into his U.S. Under-20 roster now that the Arsenal product has been cleared by FIFA to play internationally for the United States.
The U.S. Soccer Federation made the announcement of Zelalem's eligibility on Wednesday, and Ramos immediately added the 18-year-old to his list of players heading to New Zealand for the upcoming Under-20 World Cup.
With eligibility questions now answered, the U.S. international-turned youth team coach must find the best place for him on the field. But first he took the time to praise the news of Zelalem's inclusion.
"I think it means a lot," Ramos told MLSsoccer.com of Zelalem's availability to the U.S. setup. "He's certainly someone we want to have involved with our program, someone that Jurgen [Klinsmann] has already spoken about, so I think this would be a good introduction for him."
Born in Germany to Ethiopian parents, Zelalem found himself at the center of an international tug-of-war. He lived in Maryland from ages 9 to 15, at which point he joined Arsenal's youth academy in 2013 after being discovered by former U.S. youth international and Arsenal scout Danny Karbassiyoon.
Zelalem's passing and vision have seen comparisons drawn to former Arsenal and current Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, but he'll have to compete for a spot on Ramos' team.
"He's an attacking midfielder. He's a creative player," Ramos said. "We have other creative players here, like [Boca Juniors'] Joel Sonora, like [Fulham's] Emerson Hyndman, so he's in that type of mold. Maybe he plays a little bit more advanced than those guys, but I think it's just a matter of seeing over the next couple of weeks that we can fit all these guys together on one team and put them all on the field at once.
"I don't know that that can be the case. I don't know if we can fit them all together at once, but that's something we'll have to decide."
Information from Jeff Carlisle contributed to this report.