A 23-year-old talented footballer, who had four caps for the Netherlands as a young teenager, will not be deported to Congo after all, according to his current club Magreb’90.

Christian Gandu, who also played for FC Utrecht, FC Groningen and Almere City, has now been given a permanent residency permit after a high profile campaign to keep him in the country.

Wesley Sneijder was one of the footballers who urged the immigration authorities to think again.

Gandu came to the Netherlands as a refugee at the age of nine and played four times for the Oranje under-15 team in 2006 and 2007. It is unclear if he came alone or with family.

The IND had said the situation in Gandu’s home country is now safe enough for him to return home. His passport was confiscated and he was ordered to leave by December 17.