Chris Coleman is about to name his squad for the forthcoming friendlies against Northern Ireland and Ukraine. It will be his last opportunity to shape selection for the finals of Euro 2016 in France this summer.

Dai Sport’s Ross Tyson looks at three of the key issues that will be occupying the mind of the Wales manager in the fortnight before he announces his cast list for the final rehearsals.

 

The re-emergence of the sun means summer is coming. For some that means thoughts of the beach, but for Chris Coleman the warming weather means only the approaching heat of a tournament finals.

Coleman has just one five-day block with his players – bookended by friendlies at home to Northern Ireland on March 24 and a trip to Kiev to play Ukraine on March 28 – before he must decide on his choices for France.

So what dilemmas are facing the manager ahead of these two springtime encounters?

Wales’ Number 1?

Wayne Hennessey was colossal in helping Wales qualify for France this summer and up until the turn of the year was one of the Premier League’s best performing keepers. Unfortunately, though, his form has dropped off since then. A costly error against Aston Villa was followed by an uncomfortable trip to the Etihad and a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City. Eagles’ manager Alan Pardew wasn’t impressed by Hennessey’s performances in either. In all, Hennessey has conceded 15 goals in his last six Premier League matches.

Since Boaz Myhill’s retirement, Owain Fôn Williams and Danny Ward are Hennessey’s potential usurpers. Ward has had an excellent season to date, starring in Aberdeen’s mid-season title challenge. His performances were so impressive that Jurgen Klopp decided to terminate his loan deal, and immediately promoted him to back-up goalkeeper at Liverpool. It’s unlikely that Hennessey will lose his international place, but Coleman may wish to start Ward in one of the two friendlies.

Risk club’s wrath?

Like most national teams, Wales’ key players are crucial for their clubs at this stage of the season. Ashley Williams needs to keep Swansea up, Aaron Ramsey is a central figure in Arsenal’s title challenge, and Gareth Bale will need to be on top form if Real Madrid are to put a chink in Barcelona’s domestic or European armour.

Of course, the fortunes of his own team will come first, but Coleman and the Welsh FA won’t want another tussle with Wegner, or to have their preparations disrupted with a club v country row. To dip into the cliché-ridden lexicon of football – it’s the ‘business end’ of the season, so he may have to ‘carefully tailor’ players’ game time.

Best of the rest?

If you have even a passing interest in Wales’ national team then you’d probably be able to predict a good 14 of Wales’ 23-man squad. But it is perhaps the ‘maybe men’ that will decide Wales’ French fate. This is Coleman’s last chance to assess his squad before he submits it.

Plenty of players haven’t really had the chance to show the manager what they can do in the last two years. So, the two friendlies could be a perfect chance to analyse Newcastle defender Paul Dummett, or Wigan midfielder Emyr Huws, currently on-loan at Huddersfield. George Williams of Fulham, the 20-year-old striker who’s also on loan at Gillingham, may come into consideration – or perhaps even Tom Bradshaw, who has hit 15 goals so far this season in an impressive campaign for Walsall.

How Wales will tackle Russia, Slovakia and England are questions for another day, but how Coleman answers the above issues could have a big effect on Euro 2016.

 

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