The 18-year-old, on-loan at Oldham Athletic for the season, was born in Kinshasa but moved to the United Kingdom in December 1999 and from next month will be able to represent England.
Zola has already been told that he will be called into the England Under-19 squad as soon as he completes the residency qualification period, but may be tempted by the chance to play senior international football straight away.
DR Congo are of course managed by ex-United coach Mick Wadsworth and captained by Lomana LuaLua.