After Wales’ fantastic performances at Euro 2016 the task now for those squad members will be to carry that form into the upcoming Premier League season. It will be a big season for these Welsh stars and the focus will certainly be on them in the opening few weeks to see if they can replicate their efforts in France this Summer. Let’s now put the spotlight on a trio of Welsh stars.
Ashley Williams
The Swansea and Wales captain has a big season in front of him but the question is where will he call home for this campaign. After those European Championship heroics Williams stock has certainly increased and he has been subject to a £10m bid from Everton. Although the bid was subsequently turned down it does raise questions as to whether or not Williams will still be in a Swansea shirt by the end of the transfer window.
At 32 years old he may well fill that this is only real opportunity to move to a bigger club. He has undoubtedly been a great servant to Swansea but you also couldn’t blame him if he wanted to move on from South Wales before the end of the month.
Their seems to be a lot of upheaval at Swansea this Summer and with more players seemingly departing than arriving then you have to feel that Swansea are going to struggle this campaign. That struggle would be even harder if Williams decided to call time of his stint at The Liberty Stadium.
Joe Allen
Joe Allen will be pulling on the red and white stripes of Stoke City and linking up with compatriot Mark Hughes after his £13m move last month. The question now that Allen has to answer or whether or not he can perform to the same level that he did during the European Championships.
While at Anfield there was always a lot of competition for those midfield berths and it’s fair to say that he never made a first team place really his own. After moving from Swansea for £20m back in 2012 his time on Merseyside was solid if not spectacular.
But now Allen will be charged with adding a dynacism to a Stoke midfield that looked a bit weary towards the end of last season and more importantly it will be a midfield that is built around him as Stoke look to bridge the gap towards themselves and the European places. If they are to qualify for Europe then a lot of it will boil down to whether or not Allen’s time at Stoke is succesful.
Aaron Ramsey
Ramsey had an incredible European Championships and there is no doubting his quality for Arsenal but he needs to make sure he performs to those standards on a week to week basis as The Gunners look to go one better on their 2nd place league finish last time around.
The danger for Arsenal though is that while their rivals seemed to evolve again, Arsenal have seemingly been left behind. With both Manchester clubs and Chelsea all with new managers that has meant a raft of new arrivals but at The Emirates the transfer spend has been measured and that will mean that Arsene Wenger is placing his trust in the players he already has.
One of those that will need to step up is Ramsey especially if Wenger fails in his bid to land a new striker before the end of the month. Ramsey only chipped in with 5 goals last season where as he should be looking to at least equal or better his season best tally of 10 goals back in 2013-14. It’s a big season for Ramsey but as always it’s a bigger season for Arsenal.