Spain boss Vicente del Bosque has insisted that midfielder Marco Asensio is "appreciated" by his country amid talk of the 19-year-old switching his international allegiance.
The Real Madrid teenager, who is currently on loan at Espanyol, has made three appearances for Spain's Under-21 side, but has not yet been capped by the senior team.
A Twitter campaign has been set up in a bid to convince the half-Dutchman to play his international football for Netherlands, but Del Bosque has said that the attacker is in his plans.
"It shows that there are very good young players in the Under-21s, and of course Asensio is one of them. At the moment, Asensio is in the Under-21s and that means he is appreciated," AS quotes Del Bosque as saying.
Asensio, who set up all three of Espanyol's goals against Real Betis in La Liga at the weekend, would qualify for Netherlands through his mother.
