Wales manager Chris Coleman will name his next squad on Thursday, ahead of his team’s crunch World Cup qualifier against Ireland in Dublin on March 24. Ross Tyson reckons some freshening up is needed as spring approaches and suggests Coleman looks first at Ipswich’s loan striker Tom Lawrence.
It’s still pretty cold and wet here in Wales, but Spring is upon us and that means our biggest World Cup fixture since Paul Bodin had everybody’s heads in their hands in 1993.
Fail to win and you’ll be far less likely to be Putin in leave requests for a trip to Russia in 2018 (No, I’m not sorry).
Wales’ danger men are so well known, forward-thinking journalists probably have “and if they can stop Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale” built into their drafts. This time, however, there’s a new man to consider: Tom Lawrence.
Now, despite watching every minute he’s played for Wales’ senior side with my own eyes, it wouldn’t take much to convince me that he’s never played for Wales. Lawrence’s solid if unspectacular five caps made him a regular squad addition, but a player that doesn’t fill you with much expectation when you’re in need of a goal (see Simon Church). Things are a bit different now, though.
Lawrence’s presence in manager Chris Coleman’s squad should be certain – and if players are selected on form rather than reputation he could well be in line for a starting berth. Last weekend Lawrence scored his 11th goal in 31 games this season and if you’ve got a minute and 41 seconds spare it’s worth catching up on a few of them. Low block breakdowns and tika-taka aside, having a player who can blast them in from all angles may come in quite handy against a resolute Irish side.
It’s also worth noting where Lawrence scored his 11th of the season – at Oakwell. Home of Barnsley FC, Oakwell is, hopefully, a ground familiar to Coleman, as there are currently five players there Cookie could be casting an eye over.
I’ve spoken enough times about Tom Bradshaw, but I’ll allow myself one more sentence; Bradshaw has so far scored eight goals this season, not an eye-popping amount, but certainly enough to justify squad selection.
Adam Davies, Barnsley’s goalkeeper has been part of previous Wales’ squads and while it may be a little soon for Ryan Hedges or Gethin Jones to get a call-up, they are both players worth watching.
The fifth, and perhaps least familiar to Wales fans is Marley Watkins. Winger/Attacker Watkins grew up in Swansea but aside from training with the squad ahead of Euro 2016, he’s never been part of a 23-man groups.
Having joined the Tykes in 2015, Watkins scored eight goals last season. But more impressively, he’s already matched that this season, at a higher level, and has assisted a further nine goals.
The squad who did so well in France, have failed to kill teams off on the ‘Road to Russia’ so the trifecta of Lawrence, Bradshaw and Watkins could come in handy when the squad make the short trip to Ireland.