Bale: I told Woodburn to reject England call

LAURIE WHITWELL reports from Chisinau GARETH BALE has revealed he played a role in convincing Ben Woodburn to pledge allegiance to Wales and reject England. Bale met Woodburn at a friendly against Holland in November 2015 and helped persuade the young Liverpool forward to stick with Wales. Woodburn scored a stunning goal four minutes into his Wales debut to defeat Austria, and is likely to feature against Moldova tonight in another must-win game on the road to Russia 2018. England had tried to tempt a defection from Woodburn, who was born in Nottingham to English parents, but the 17-year-old repeatedly committed himself to the Welsh cause. Raised in Chester and with a close bond to his Welsh grandfather, Woodburn was first involved at youth level in May 2013. Bale, who himself turned down advances by England, said: ‘i was injured for the Holland game and he sat in the box next to me because we’re in the same agency. ‘i had a little chat with him and obviously i wanted to get him on board, because we knew he was a great player. He’s a typical winger, likes to take on a player, likes to shoot, likes to cross. He’s Welsh anyway, so he’s ours. ‘i’ve been in his position, as a youngster, and it’s a lot to come in (to the team). So we don’t want to put pressure on his shoulders.’