By Graham Thomas
If Harry Wilson scores to put Fulham top of the Premier League on Friday night, then expect Craig Bellamy to be just as happy as the Manchester United-haters.
The Premier League season will begin at Old Trafford where most eyes will be drawn towards Erik ten Hag.
No matter that he dodged a thousand bullets last season, is armed with a new contract, and has been given the blessing of the owners to splurge millions on his former favourites at Ajax, the Dutchman will be coping more gleeful abuse if his new campaign starts with failure.
But if Wales midfielder Wilson has a hand in a Fulham win, then Bellamy will be chuffed, too.
The Wales manager is about to start casting his eye over his top level talent among the squad for the first time since he succeeded Rob Page six weeks ago.
Wilson is likely to be one Bellamy’s key men when the Nations League fixtures begin next month. The 27-year-old has moved from supporting act to the show-stoppers, such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, to one of those expected to fill the void.
What's your prediction on today game!
Manchester United vs Fulham.
Premier League.#ManchesterUnited #Fulham #EPL #ManFul pic.twitter.com/YmMvIqSuHi— ༄TY_BLINGS (@TyArmani7) August 16, 2024
In that same bracket for Bellamy is Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson, but after that Premier League Welsh influencers start to look a bit thin on the ground.
Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon and Dan James are all still in the Championship with Leeds United, Jordan James went down from the Championship to League One with Birmingham City and then over to France to join Rennes, whilst Fin Stevens has left Brentford for St. Pauli in Germany, and anyone hoping to see the exciting talent of Lewis Koumas at Liverpool has been denied by a season-long move to Stoke City.
That may prove beneficial in terms of making Koumas more than capable of “doing it on a wet Tuesday night in Stoke” but maybe doesn’t relate as easily to playing international football for Wales.
Kieffer Moore has dropped from the Premier League with Bournemouth to the Championship with Sheffield United, whilst defender Chris Mepham’s days at the Cherries also look numbered.
Acting as a bit of a counter-balance, both Wes Burns and Nathan Broadhead have gone up into the Premier League with Ipswich, although whether they can hold down starting places with the Tractor Boys remains to be seen.
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This is the equation Bellamy has to weigh up as Wales manager – to be a big fish in a small pool, or a small fish in a pool you don’t get to swim in very often.
Former manager Page always tended towards wanting players to play rather than sit on the bench.
So, he was comfortable enough when the likes of Rodon and Ampadu dropped out of the Premier League to play for Leeds.
But the policy can backfire. Goalkeeper Danny Ward has been at Leicester City for six years and found himself third choice last season, even after they had dropped out of the Premier League and into the Championship.
Bellamy has suggested he prefers quality over quantity, so a handful of matches in the Premier League for a striker like Broadhead, might be seen as more useful in the step up to international football than a season of matches – and even goals – in the Championship.
Wilson was not always a regular starter for Fulham last season – he was in the named on the teamsheet just 16 times in the Premier League – but his 19 appearances off the bench, meant that together with his duties in a Wales shirt, he played a total of 51 matches last season.
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