Craig Bellamy has described Joe Allen as one of Wales greatest ever players when questioned why he made the decision to reintroduce the midfielder bringing an end to his international retirement.
Bellamy admitted he was aiming to involve Allen in his first camp as manager but he missed out due to fitness concerns, but it was common sense to involve the Swansea City star.
Allen still has plenty to give says Bellamy
“As a person he’s (Joe Allen) the type of profile you want in a squad, just by his leadership skills as well. I believe Joe has been one of our greatest players and he still has football in him, I see it as common sense really” said the Wales boss on selecting the 34-year old.
“He’s fit, I spoke to him when I first came into the role, he’s a player I was fortunate to play with as well I admired him, he’s an exceptional footballer who’s still got a lot to give. I believe the way we play the way we look to do things really suits him”
“For me if he’s fit and available and he’s willing to be part of Wales it’s a no brainer for me really. I would have probably put him in the first squad but he wasn’t fit at that time.”
“His brain, his experience, he’s a high quality footballer. I know people maybe will look at age, its never a problem to me, I just appreciate the skills he has and the ability he’s going to bring.”
Bellamy was firm in stating that the decision to involve the Swansea man wasn’t down to the absence of captain Aaron Ramsey and Ethan Ampadu who are both sidelined with long term injuries.
Ampadu is set to be out until January after suffering a knee ligament injury in Leeds United’s win against Coventry City in the Championship.
“Really disappointed that we don’t have him because of the talent he is and also the character he is, but most important part is the human being side and he’s an impressive human being and he’ll come back and have a huge say for Leeds and a huge say for us” said Bellamy on Ampadu’s absence.
Ramsey is still set to be involved in the Wales camp despite being unavailable for selection, as Bellamy looks to utilise his experience on other members of the squad to prepare for the task of Iceland and Montenegro.
There was no place in the 25-man squad for inform Rangers man Tom Lawerence but Bellamy hasn’t ruled out a possible return for the 30-year old.
Lawerence hasn’t featured for Wales since October 2019, when Wales drew 1-1 with Croatia in their Euro 2020 qualifier at The Cardiff City Stadium.
“It’s just a number of squad, I have a certain amount of numbers I can go to, would I name the whole of Wales yes I would if you given me the choice but we just have players at this present moment that I picked” stated Bellamy on the decision not to include Lawerence.
“Like I said last time when we spoke there’s a lot going to happen between now and when we first meet up with the squad, one or two positions or one or two areas could change.”
“Tom’s definitely a player I really like but at this present moment there’s one or two players I’ve put in the position instead.”
Wales next fixture will be away to Iceland on the 11th of October where they will be looking to continue their strong start to their UEFA Nations League campaign after earning four points from their opening fixtures against Turkey and Montenegro.
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