Craig Bellamy has said he loves Lewis Koumas’s fearlessness and hopes the Wales captain, Aaron Ramsey, will help to flesh out the Liverpool youngster’s ability. Koumas, who joined Stoke on loan this summer, is regarded as a prodigious talent and was called up to Bellamy’s first squad as manager for a Nations League double-header next week.
Bellamy played with Koumas’s father, Jason, for his country and has picked the 18-year-old forward, who made his international debut in June, for games against Turkey and Montenegro. Koumas has scored in his past two Stoke appearances, including on his Championship debut. He also scored on his Liverpool debut in February, in an FA Cup victory against Southampton.
“With Lewis, every bit I’ve seen of him, I’ve just loved,” Bellamy said. “Fearless. He’s one of those players who just, every time he has it, you feel like something’s going to happen, something positive happens.
“They’re the players you would love to coach or you’d love to just go and watch. I’m sure he would have looked at Aaron for a number of years as well.
“Now, he gets to see what elite really looks like in a character like Aaron. I’d like to believe that’s going to develop a player like Lewis quicker. He gets to see him. He gets to see his actions. He gets to hear him talk. He gets to hear certain information as well.
“I was lucky, I had players like Mark Hughes, Gary Speed, senior players who I really admired from being a fan. I just caught the end of Ian Rush. And he was my hero. I was able to pick little bits up.”
Bellamy said he saw “no reason” to remove the captaincy from Ramsey, the 33-year-old who has not played for Wales since last September, and believes he will play a key role in the continued development of the next generation.
Another Liverpool player, Owen Beck, who this week joined Blackburn on a season’s loan, and Leeds’s Karl Darlow, who was born in Northampton, are the only uncapped players included. Darlow, the second-choice goalkeeper at Leeds, is the grandson of Ken Leek, part of Wales’s 1958 World Cup squad.
Asked how good Koumas can be, Bellamy was reluctant to fuel the hype. “Your attitude determines how good you’re going to be,” he said. “I’ve seen so many players with ability. But where you go … it’s all determined by your attitude. How you conduct yourself. How disciplined you are.
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“That’s what determines a real top player. That’s where you see the top. They’re at the top for a reason. No shortcuts. You can’t get there otherwise. The quality is too high. He has the ability to be at that level. Now, [it is about] his attitude.”
Bellamy’s first game in charge, against Turkey next Friday, is at the Cardiff City Stadium, where the 45-year-old finished his playing career. Wales’s game in Montenegro the following Monday has been moved from the capital, Podgorica, to Niksic because of concerns regarding the pitch.
Bellamy said the game being relocated will not affect his team. “We have to travel about 45 minutes, get on with it,” he said.