The age cheating problem that has dogged African players for some time, resurfaced in the past few days, with reports in England alleging that Anderlecht defender Chancel Mbemba has four birthdays.

Currently listed as a 20-year-old, a Sportsmail report claims Mbemba, who is set to join Newcastle United in an 8.5m pounds deal, has at other times had different birthdays.

When Mbemba started his career in his homeland, he was said to have been registered as an August 08 1988 birth, while on joining Anderlecht in 2012, his new birthday was stated as August 8, 1995.

He was said to have been registered with a November 30, 1991 birthday during qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, while the report claimed the player himself had indicated in an earlier interview that he was born in 1990.

However the birthday discrepancies do not seem to bother Newcastle as they press ahead with the signing of the player they regard as the best defender in the Belgian Jupiler League last season.

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