The hottest welsh football prospects you are about to hear a lot more of

CRAIG BELLAMY HAS ONE EYE ON WELSH FOOTBALL'S FUTURE AND THERE ARE SOME BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS STARTING TO BURST THROUGH ALEX RIDOUT 12:15, 03 Jun 2025 The future of Welsh football looks

promising under the management of Craig Bellamy. The Wales boss has enjoyed an unprecedented eight-game unbeaten run which has kicked off the manager's stint, but with the World Cup

qualifiers lying in wait, big challenges are ahead. Bellamy, though, is not content with focussing simply on the here and now, he has grander, longer-term plans for the national team. In the

last fortnight, he called up a number of under-19s and under-21s talents to train with the first-team squad in Cardiff and in Spain as the former Newcastle and Liverpool forward looks to

the future. So, the question is, who are these new talents who are likely to be brought into the fold? One of Wales’s most promising young guns is Arsenal defender BRAYDEN CLARKE. The

17-year-old has started at both centre-back and full-back for the Gunners’ under-18 side, with a total of 17 appearances to his name in the Under-18 Premier League last season. Clarke's

potential has been noticed by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who included the Welshman in his matchday squad to face Bournemouth in early May. Article continues below He has also featured

for Wales’ under-19s, starting in the 2-0 loss to England back in March. Down the other end of the pitch, Wales have an extremely talented striker in GABRIELE BIANCHERI. The 18-year-old is

currently in the Manchester United ranks and has scored 10 goals in 10 starts in the Under-18 Premier League. The Welshman's side ended up finishing second in the league, two points

behind city rivals Manchester City. Biancheri will be hoping that the Welsh manager has taken note of his impressive season and perhaps gain his first international call up of his career.

However, there are complications afoot, with the forward having trained with Jesse Marsch's Canadian national team following his stint in the Wales camp. Biancheri qualifies for Wales,

Italy and Canada and while he is still young, and Bellamy appears relaxed about the situation, his international future is still up for grabs, it would seem. Meanwhile, in that Manchester

City side which beat Biancheri’s United to the title plays another of Wales' brightest talents. Goalkeeper MAX HUDSON led his City side to league title glory from the back, with the

18-year-old only conceding 10 goals in his 15 league appearances this season. In that time, he kept eight clean sheets. However, he had to compete for his spot with Englishman Oliver

Whatmuff, who accrued nine league appearances. As for talents from the capital, Cardiff City are now beginning to provide some of Wales’ most promising players. Indeed, after impressing

during the training camp, RONAN KPAKIO who has been called up by Bellamy for the June international fixtures against Liechtenstein and Belgium. The right-back has been called up after a

breakthrough season, making six appearances for the Cardiff senior team – which would likely have been more had he not sustained a nasty ligament injury in January. Another player from the

Bluebirds catching the eye is JOEL COLWILL. The 20-year-old has had a busy season with two loan stints, firstly out to League two side Cheltenham, where he achieved nine goal contributions

in 22 appearances. After Christmas, his next loan took him to Exeter, where he was unable to register a goal, however, was able to start nine games and get a total of 18 appearances for the

League one side, taking his total to 44 appearances for the season. There are also a couple of Swans youngsters catching the eye. Wideman SAM PARKER has seen his development stunted a little

by injury, but remains a highly-rated prospect, and could well be heavily involved in boss Alan Sheehan's plans next season. Midfielder CAMERON CONGREVE is another whose stock has

risen recently, particularly after a strong loan spell at Bromley, where he made 13 goal contributions in 47 games. More of a well-known name among Wales fans, and a really exciting prospect

to boot, is Liverpool’s LEWIS KOUMAS. The winger has been on loan for the duration of the 2024/25 season at Championship side Stoke City. The Welshman collected a total of 26 starts for the

Potters, with 43 appearances overall. In those matches he got three goals and two assists, one of those being a sensationally-taken scorpion kick against Bristol City. However, the

19-year-old’s flare and control is arguably the reason why he already has five Welsh caps to his name. The final talent on the list is the talented CRUZ ALLEN. The 18-year-old has played 27

times for Derby's under 18s this season, most of them coming in the Premier League 2, Division 1 where he produced seven goal contributions in 17 games. He also has three age-grade

Welsh caps to his name, all coming in the Under 17 European Championship back in 2021, where he scored one goal. Article continues below Just this select group of players alone proves the

talent Wales have in the making, with many more gifted youngsters playing in the ranks of some of the best teams in England and Wales. While all eyes zero in on World Cup qualification, an

interesting sub-plot will be if, or perhaps when, Bellamy starts to turn to the next crop bursting through.