Chris Coleman trumps England by giving Wales call-up to David Brooks

Chris Coleman believes that his decision to call Sheffield United’s David Brooks into the senior Wales squad for the first time will cause “one or two ripples on the other side of the Bridge” as England face up to the likelihood of missing out on another talented dual-nationality prospect to their rivals.
Brooks, who was born in Warrington, stole the show when he represented England Under-20s in the summer in the Toulon tournament, having withdrawn from the Wales squad also competing in France. As well as scoring England’s goal against Ivory Coast in a final that they went on to win on penalties, Brooks was named player of the tournament.
Yet Brooks decided to switch allegiance again in August, when he accepted a call‑up for Wales Under-21s, and this latest development suggests he is now prepared to pledge his long-term future to the country for which he qualifies through his Wrexham-born mother.
Coleman met Brooks last month to talk things over and the Wales manager felt that the time was right, on the back of some impressive performances at club level, to reward the 20-year-old midfielder by naming him in his squad for the crucial World Cup qualifiers against Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday week and the Republic of Ireland in Cardiff three days later.
With Liverpool’s Ben Woodburn recently committing his international future to Wales despite qualifying to play for England, and Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu, another dual-nationality player who is also in the squad for the Georgia and Ireland fixtures, expected to do the same, Coleman spoke about Brooks’s situation in a wider context and referred to it as “another feather in the cap of our system”.
Asked whether he was always confident that Brooks would return to the Wales setup after the Toulon tournament, Coleman said: “You can never tell. We were hopeful. I think the connection has always been there. He’s obviously shown great promise for some years. Luckily for us he’s chosen Wales. I’m sure that will cause one or two ripples on the other side of the Bridge. It caused a bit of a stir with Ben Woodburn, albeit Ben had been with us for some years.
“We’re not the only country that have one or two players with dual nationality. But I think it’s a feather in the cap of our system and our structure that these players are coming to us. Brooksy is another, he’s in our framework and he’s earned his chance to come and join the first team.”
With the door still open, in theory, for Brooks to return to England until he has represented Wales in a competitive match, Coleman was asked whether he felt obliged to give the youngster a cap in the next two games.
“No, I don’t feel obliged to cap anybody unless it suits the first team and suits us,” he said. “It’s commitment, isn’t it? You can’t be in when you feel like it. You’re either in for the long run or don’t be in at all. So anybody that is with us, that’s chosen to be in our squad, whether they’re capped or not, they’re there for the long run. That’s how it should be and that’s how I see it.”

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
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