Reply With QuoteIt would be great to get them on the pitch and tied to Wales, though reports say both are well committed to the Welsh cause
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Osian Roberts has categorically stated that Ethan Ampadu and David Brooks are both Welsh players after the duo made their first-team international debuts in Wales’ 2-0 defeat to France.
Under FIFA rules, the England-born pair could still potentially play for the Three Lions as they are yet to feature in a competitive fixture for Wales.
But assistant manager Roberts is under no illusions that Ampadu and Brooks — along with Liverpool wonderkid Ben Woodburn who has already been capped — will shine for the Red Dragons in the future.
When asked if he was worried about the threat of England attempting to get Ampadu and Brooks to pledge their futures to the Three Lions, Roberts responded: “No thoughts at all, other than Ethan, Ben and Dave’s performances tonight (against France).
“They are Welsh players. Simple as. No story there. They are Welsh players. End of.
“David Brooks has only been with us a few months. Rob Page did a lot of work with him, looking after him in the right way, delighted he is with us.
“There are different pathways for these players. Some have come later, others like Ben and Ethan have come all the way from our regional programme aged 12.
"We are extremely proud of that pathway but every pathway is important for us. The important thing is that we increase that pool of players and make it as strong as we possibly can be. The likes of Ethan and Ben have beaten France at under age level so they have got wonderful experiences to draw upon that will only help them in the future.
“We have been happy with what they have been doing in our camps and training for quite a while, 18 months or so. Now it’s time for them to take that next step and they have shown tonight they are more than capable of taking that step.”
Ampadu, Brooks and Woodburn were all given a taste of action by Chris Coleman who sent the young trio on in the 63rd-minute of Wales’ loss to Les Bleus at Stade de France.
They delivered impressive cameos from the bench against Didier Deschamps’ side and are expected to play a greater part in Wales’ clash with Panama at Cardiff City Stadium tomorrow night.
“They did really well when they came on,” added Roberts.
“It was Chris’s idea to give them a wonderful experience. All three of them have enjoyed it and thrived on it. Hopefully, I am sure it will be the first step of many in their international careers.
“Overall, I thought it was a great reaction to the disappointment of last month to be turning up here and giving their all in what is essentially a friendly. I certainly didn’t see our boys take it lightly.
“We have got some younger generation players who have been with us for a while now behind the scenes in the camps, they have trained well, working well in camps, in training for a while and the next logical step for them is to take that into the field. We want to give them as much experience as we can moving forward.
“It strengthens the squad but at the same time, the present day players and the older era, we have got a young squad essentially. The average age is pretty low without the younger players.
“Certainly the squad we had at the Euros, that’s been freshened up, these players have come through, they have always been in the plan and are now ready to take the next step. It could be seen as a new cycle but at the same time we are certainly not discarding anyone.
“What it does do is increase the pool we have. You have seen with the French squad, when they substitute a player you could arguably say a stronger player is coming on. They leave out Champions League players from the 24 in the squad. We have to have a bigger pool and the bigger pool trying to get in there, the harder it is for Chris to pick his final squad, we are in a better place.”
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/f...s-out-13892562
It would be great to get them on the pitch and tied to Wales, though reports say both are well committed to the Welsh cause
We really do need Ampadu and Brooks tied to Wales as soon as possible. Probably won’t happen until next Autumn though.
Is that China cup competative?Originally Posted by Pearcey3
Dominic Solanke and Angus Gunn have just been called up for England, every chance that these boys could be in the frame too if Southgate carries on in this manner, particularly given how good Brooks was in the summer tournament for them
Dont they just count the Euro's and WC as competitive ? ? ?
That’s true but we all know that once the ‘star’ players come back for the competitive games, those players won’t get a sniff.
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