Anderlecht's Chancel Mbemba (Photo : Reuters)
English club Newcastle United have closed an agreement to sign Congo international Chancel Mbemba from Belgian club Anderlecht for £8.5 million amidst controversies with regards to the 20-year-old's true age, the Independent reported.
However, the Magpies would only accept Mbemba and provide his contract if the footballer could secure a visa to travel to England.
As of the moment, the Kinshasa native is under investigation from FIFA due to the inconsistencies regarding his age as he was said to have recorded four official birthdays throughout his career, as per CNN.
FIFA told CNN that they are "currently analyzing all the documents" pertaining to Mbemba that they possess and "investigations against the relevant entities are on-going." After that, football's world governing body did not provide any further comments regarding the timetable of the probe.
The 5-foot-11 full back was registered by his first two Congolese youth teams, E.S. La Grace and Mputu, as being born in 1988, but when he played for the national team in the 2011 African Cup of Nations qualifier it became 1991.
Furthermore, his official birth year in the Anderlecht roster list is 1994 but Mbemba himself believes it should be 1990.
"The documentation required in order for Mbemba to obtain a visa has been submitted to the Football Association," Newcastle officials said. His Premier League acceptance is subject to the time he would be able to obtain a visa, otherwise the agreement would not push through.
The Magpies have already acquired Mbemba's Purple and White teammate Aleksandar Mitrovic via a £12.5 million deal last week. The 20-year-old striker's visa and legal documents were complete and everything went smoothly for the young Serbian.
