Wales U21 manager Matty Jones has named a strong squad, as they prepare for their penultimate U21 Euro qualifier away to Iceland.
After being involved with the senior team in June, there are welcome returns for Fin Stevens, Joe Low, Charlie Savage and Charlie Crew. Also, among the names available to Jones are Cardiff City’s Rubin Colwill and Birmingham City loanee Luke Harris.
Heading into the final stages of their campaign, Jones is looking forward to reuniting with players who’ve improved dramatically since he last had them in camp.
“It’s a huge privilege to work with this level and calibre of player. What having these players play for the senior team have done is allowed us, as an age group, to be competitive, and you can see that with where we’re at currently.
“We’re in a healthy position. There’s an abundance of quality and high potential players coming through, and I always want to push these players as hard as I can in order for them to get senior football experience.”
One player not involved in the squad is Luton Town striker Joe Taylor. There have been rumours linking him with a possible switch to Scotland, but Jones has played down those claims.
“That’s all it is, it’s reports and speculation. I’ve been part of those conversations, and we do understand there could potentially be a fight, but at the moment there’s no decision that Joe has to make.
“He is committed to Wales, and we’ve got him on board, and he’s in a good place. Joe’s next step is to complete another loan move, and hopefully Joe can be playing football.”
New Relationships
One major change that has happened since the U21s last played is that there’s a new senior manager in Craig Bellamy.
In his first senior squad announcement, Bellamy has opted to call up some U21 talent, including Lewis Koumas; a clear sign that the new manager trusts the up-and-coming talent.
For Jones, he is happy that there’s still a clear continuation of movement between the senior team and age group teams.
“What’s pleasing for me is the continuation of strategies, communication, processes, which are important to me in my role.
“My remit has always been to help with the transition and progression of players from the U21s to the senior team, and we’ve had great success doing that over the last few years.
“I’ve had healthy conversations with Craig, and I’m really pleased that it’s been a positive start, and that looks set to continue.”
Craig Bellamy’s first 50 days as Wales manager
As well as Bellamy, there’s been a new appointment in the U19 group, with former Wales international Chris Gunter becoming manager.
Jones is looking forward to developing the relationship and helping even more talent reach their potential.
“Chris and I have both acknowledged already the importance of our relationship. I couldn’t be more pleased for a great human being. We all know the role Chris has played in Welsh football, and he’s a great ambassador on and off the pitch.
“It’s going to be a pleasure to work closely with Gunts, and we’ve had a lot of dialogue already in terms of that relationship and the support we can offer each other.”
Setting the Pace
On the pitch, Wales are in a good position in their group. With two games to go, Jones’ side sit second in the table, level on points with Denmark, but the Danes do have a game in hand.
However, the drama is behind Wales. Both Iceland and Czechia sit five and six points behind Cymru respectively, but both have two games in hand.
Wales will end their campaign with games against Iceland and Czechia, and Jones says he’d much rather set the pace rather than be the chaser.
“When it came to the negotiation of the fixtures, we manipulated as much as we could to get points on the board and get success. We had to go to Denmark for our first game, but we put things in place to make it achievable and for it to be a success.
“What’s been really good is the momentum we’ve been able to carry through. When you go from March to September, if you go through that period off the back of wins, it’s a fantastic place to be.
“Regardless of the complexities of the group, it’s all in our hands. There are two games to play and six points on the table, and that’s what we’ll be fighting for.”
WALES U21 SQUAD TO PLAY ICELAND
Ed Beach (Crawley Town), Evan Watts (Swansea City)
Fin Stevens (St. Pauli), Luey Giles (Cardiff City), Matt Baker (Newport County), Luca Hoole (Shrewsbury Town), Joe Low (Wycombe Wanderers), Tom Davies (Cardiff City), Zac Ashworth (Blackpool)
Eli King (Stevenage), Oli Hammond (Oldham Athletic), Joel Cotterill (Swindon Town), Charlie Savage (Reading), Charlie Crew (Leeds United), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City)
Luke Harris (Birmingham City), Cian Ashford (Cardiff City), Pat Jones (Huddersfield Town), Josh Thomas (Swansea City), Chris Popov (Leicester City)
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