CARDIFF, GB – Wales national team manager Craig Bellamy has delivered a strong endorsement of veteran defender Ben Davies, asserting that the player’s limited game time at Tottenham Hotspur this season poses “no issue” for the Dragons’ crucial upcoming fixtures.
Davies, the current longest-serving player at Spurs since his 2014 arrival from Swansea City, has found first-team opportunities scarce in North London. Despite this, Bellamy rates the 32-year-old as unequivocally Wales’s “best player,” highlighting his professionalism and enduring importance to the national cause.
Davies' Spurs Status and International Reliance
The left-back/centre-back recently broke his starting drought for Spurs, netting a goal in a recent 1-1 Premier League draw against Sunderland. Following that match, Davies acknowledged that his future at the London club remains largely out of his control, fueling speculation about a potential January departure.
However, for Wales, Davies’s club status is secondary to his proven quality. With an impressive 100 caps to his name, he remains indispensable, especially as the nation gears up for a significant international window.
Crucial World Cup Play-Offs Loom
Wales is scheduled to face Bosnia-Herzegovina in a World Cup play-off semi-final on 26 March, followed just five days later by a potential final against either Italy or Northern Ireland. This tight turnaround presents a significant challenge, particularly for players lacking consistent match sharpness.
“I’ve been here a year and a half now and Ben has never been a regular [at Spurs],” Bellamy stated, addressing the perceived risk to Davies’s fitness levels. “I’ve got to be honest, Ben’s been our best player. Certain players are top, such good pros, they know what they need and they gear themselves ready for that period.”
Bellamy acknowledged the inherent risk associated with fielding players who are not playing week-in, week-out.
“The problem is when we have two games in such a short space of time, we have to be conscious that [players] might get an injury,” he elaborated. “We’ll deal with it. There’s no issue.”
Managing Player Load and Professionalism
Davies was instrumental in Wales qualifying for the previous World Cup in 2022, delivering a magnificent performance in the play-off final victory over Ukraine. He continues to shoulder significant responsibility, often captaining the side in the ongoing absence of Aaron Ramsey due to injury.
Bellamy expressed confidence in the high standards maintained by elite professionals like Davies, even when match action is limited.
“What you’ve got to see now is these boys live it. These boys train and know how to manage themselves,” Bellamy asserted. “OK, nothing will get anywhere close to a game [in terms of match fitness], but these boys are smart enough to know when they play in-house games, and clubs are clever enough to know, because the difference if you train small, small, small, and you go to a bigger area, the risk of injury becomes higher. So they manage their training load and then we go bigger.”
The Ramsey Factor and Squad Depth
While Davies has generally avoided the long-term fitness setbacks that have plagued former Arsenal midfielder Ramsey throughout his career, the potential need for both players to feature heavily in March remains a tactical headache for the Welsh management.
“If it’s Ben or Aaron, we have to manage it. That’s the simple fact why we need 30-odd players,” Bellamy concluded. “I think I’ve used 32 players this campaign, and we have to because we have to continuously keep our intensity.”
Bellamy stressed that Wales’s recent success is built upon an intense, high-energy identity that requires a deep, reliable squad. The metrics confirm this shift, with Wales now ranking highly in European intensity statistics. Maintaining this level demands that the coaching staff expertly navigate the fluctuating fitness and match-readiness of key figures like Davies leading into the decisive play-off fixtures.
For fans hoping to see Davies secure a more regular starting role before March, the January transfer window might offer a solution, though Bellamy’s current stance suggests that even a peripheral role at Spurs will not diminish Davies’s standing as a vital cog in the Welsh machine.
