Aaron Ramsey still has ‘a lot to give’ Wales, Rob Page claims
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Rob Page will tell Aaron Ramsey he has “a lot to give” Wales in the hope that he does not follow Gareth Bale in leaving the international scene.
Bale, 33, quit football completely on Monday after dealing with fitness issues to end one of the most decorated careers in British football.
Nice midfielder Ramsey, who turned 32 on Boxing Day, has had his own injury problems and, like Bale, disappointed at the World Cup in Qatar.
It remains to be seen whether Ramsey, who posted a tribute to Bale on social media after the Wales captain announced his retirement, extends his international career in to the Euro 2024 qualifying programme.
Wales manager Page said: “Aaron has got a lot of football to give to Welsh football. That will be my message to him when we have that conversation.
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“Look at the stats from the European qualifiers, the World Cup qualifiers, the World Cup itself, for distance covered and sprints he tops the table from both teams.
“So there is still a lot of football to be played from Aaron’s point of view, and he’s still a great player. Whether he can do that consistently in back-to-back games is another question. But I still think he’s got a lot to offer.”
Midfield linchpin Joe Allen will celebrate his 33rd birthday before Wales open their Euro 2024 campaign in Croatia on March 25.
But Page expects his squad to remain intact, saying: “I don’t envisage two or three others doing the same (retiring).
“As a group of senior players, they are conscious they want that culture in that changing room to evolve in the next generation coming through.
“To do that, they want to be sympathetic as a group in how they manage it. It’s credit to them for thinking that way.”
Page confirmed he already has a new skipper in mind, although he refused to divulge who will wear the Wales armband in the future.
He said: “It will come as no surprise when it’s eventually announced.
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“We’ve got a good group of players and there are senior players who lead by example anyway. But there’s one that stands out for me.
“We’ve already pre-empted this. There’ll be a right time and place and I’ll be announcing it, but I have got someone in mind.”
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