Liverpool’s 18-year-old forward, Lewis Koumas, has made quite the impression on his new Wales teammates, as well as legend Ian Rush.
It was only in March that Koumas was making his Wales U21s debut, when he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Lithuania.
Now, during his first training camp as a Wales senior international, Koumas shared a video showcasing some finishing from a recent session in Portugal.
In the clip, he shows off some seriously impressive shooting that even elicited shouts from teammates that he is ‘like Gareth Bale’.
@Cymru ? pic.twitter.com/qowNQrjXEN
— Lewis Koumas (@LewisKoumas) June 5, 2024
That is extremely high praise, and Rush didn’t help take the pressure off his shoulders when he visited the camp on the Algarve.
Chatting with manager Rob Page and Koumas, Rush joked: “I’m not coming all this way over and he’s not gonna score!”
During their talk, they spoke about the youngster’s debut goal for Liverpool with Rush joking: “I was there watching that. I said who’s that? Who’s that young kid?”
Page then teased Rush by reminding him of how long it took him to score his first Liverpool goal. Rush netted his first of 346 goals on his 10th appearance for the Reds.
Wales won’t be going to Euro 2024 this summer. They were knocked out of the qualifiers in March, by Poland on penalties.
This has, though, allowed the likes of Koumas an opportunity to play in upcoming friendlies against Gibraltar and Slovakia.
Ymosodwyr Cymru ?@LFC | @LewisKoumas | @Ian_Rush9 | #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/UTV7JqtW9h
— Wales ??????? (@Cymru) June 5, 2024
The 18-year-old’s inclusion is a sign that he will be a part of Wales’ longer-term plans, with Page recently saying: “The games that we’ve got give us an opportunity to develop some of these younger players and expose them to the environment.
“They’ll get a taste of it so come September when we play the Nations League, and come next year when the World Cup qualifiers start, they’ve already had a taste of that experience.
“How can I ignore it when [Koumas] has done what he has done for Liverpool in the first team?
“It would be foolish of me not to get these two lads up.”
The other player the manager was referring to is 17-year-old Leeds midfielder Charlie Crew, who is yet to make a first-team appearance for his club.
Wales play against Gibraltar, on June 6 at 5pm (BST), and Slovakia on June 9 at 7.45pm, with both games available to watch on S4C and Premier Sports 1.
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