Levante's Senegalese midfielder Papakouli 'Pape' Diop is to apply for Spanish citizenship as of next year, according to reports in the Iberian press.
The 26-year-old will have been in Spain for five years by January 2013, and has confirmed to Marca that he will go for dual nationality.
The Senegal international joined Gimnastic from FC Tours in 2008, before signing for Racing Santander a year later. The combative midfielder played 85 times for Los Verdiblancos, but departed for the Ciutat de Valencia this summer.
With dual nationality, Diop will hope to avoid scenarios like the one that occurred in August, when he was unavailable to play in the Europa League against Motherwell because he could not get a visa to travel to Scotland.
