Wales boss Craig Bellamy hints at positional change for Rubin Colwill in bid to fulfil potential

Wales boss Craig Bellamy has hinted at a positional change for in-form Cardiff City playmaker Rubin Colwill following his recall to the national team squad and hopes he can now kick on just like he did at the same age.

Bellamy omitted Colwill from his first two camps as Wales manager but the 22-year-old has gone up a couple of gears in recent months, spearheading his club side's form in recent weeks.

It's taken some time for Colwill to hit the heights many expected of him and even Bellamy himself said he "expected more" from the forward up until this point.

Whether Colwill has any game-time in the upcoming double-header against Turkey and Iceland in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but if he does get a chance, it might not be as a marauding 10, which supporters will be used to seeing him playing as week in, week out for the Bluebirds.

“There’s still a long way to go with Rubin," said Bellamy, who has known the Cardiff star for a decade owing to his time as an academy coach with the Bluebirds. "I know Rubin really well and I speak to him quite a lot.

"We’re both clear in what we see for him, what he expects from his career, where he right now. We both agree there’s more [to come]. But I definitely agree in the last number of games his intensity has moved up. A lot of the habits I haven’t quite seen I feel he’s trying to bring to his game.

"I see different areas for Rubin as well. I don’t just see an attacking player, I see an overall footballer that could be used in different roles as well. His engine, his volume of running is more than his high intensity, which is a different part of the game. So with Rubin, I don’t just see him in the front lines, I see him being able to play deeper as well. He’s going to need a bit of help with that.

"I probably have a bit more of an indication with Rubin because of the years I’ve seen him, since he was 12, I’ve seen his development, I’ve been a part of his development. He’s a player I would have expected more [from] but we all develop at different stages, different moments. My development really came probably when I was 22, so he’s a similar age, that area where he can push on.”

Whether Colwill has benefitted from an injury to Swansea's Ollie Cooper, or whether he would have been picked on form following his fantastic performances over the last few weeks remains to be seen.

Bellamy and Wales Under-21s boss Matty Jones have both outlined in the last few months what they needed to see more of from Colwill and the Cardiff man appears to have shown enough in recent weeks to earn his place in the 26-man Welsh squad.

"I like to judge players without the ball, that's really important to me," he added. "That's part of the non-negotiables for me, you cannot make our team weaker without the ball, that just cannot happen. You have to be really strong without the ball and even better with the ball.

"When I see players able to add to the team without the ball then I believe they're ability with the ball will shine even more."