WALES DUO WILL BE IN DEMAND IF THEY MOVE – HARTSON Rodon has been unlucky to miss selection, says Mason
WALES legend John Hartson believes Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale will have plenty of transfer offers on the table this summer. Bale will return to parent club Real Madrid once his loan spell with Tottenham Hotspur comes to an end in the coming weeks, while Ramsey’s future at Juventus remains uncertain.
It remains to be seen whether or not Spurs would want to re-sign Bale – whose contract at Real Madrid expires in the summer of 2022.
Bale recently admitted he was determined to use his loan spell in north London to boost his fitness ahead of Euro 2020.
And Hartson says Bale could yet secure another deal with Tottenham, although he admits their managerial vacancy will need to be filled before a decision could be made.
“All he needed for me was to play games to show what he can do,” said Hartson, who was speaking ahead of the McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards.
“I don’t think he was Jose Mourinho’s signing. He didn’t play him as much as Gareth would have liked. I think [chairman] Daniel Levy brought him to the club more so than the manager with the way the season went and the amount of games Gareth featured in under Mourinho.
“Gareth’s got to be happy with the environment he’s in, and Gareth is always confident when he turns up with the national team.
“He feels as if he’s in a happy place when he’s with the Welsh squad, so hopefully the Euros will bring the best out of him.
“Gareth could go back to Real Madrid, but I still think there’ll be quite a few takers.
“Will Spurs take him again? Spurs haven’t got a manager at the minute, so we’ll have to wait and see who takes over there.”
As for Ramsey, reports in Italy have suggested he is keen to return to the Premier League after a difficult season in Turin.
The former Arsenal man has started just 13 of Juventus’ 35 Serie A matches so far this season, again an unused sub in the midweek win over Sassuolo.
However, Hartson believes the Euros will give the 30-year-old the chance to shine on the biggest stage ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.
“Aaron Ramsey’s been in and out. Juventus haven’t had a great season,” added the ex-striker.
“But hopefully we can get them in a good place and they can let their agents organise that and take their minds off things while they’re with Wales for the best part of a month.
“Gareth will have lots of options on the table, and I’m sure Aaron Ramsey will as well. They’ve still got an awful lot to offer, both players.”
Wales begin their Euro 2020 campaign against Switzerland on June 12 before facing Turkey and Italy in their remaining group games.
The Red Dragons go into the competition having lost just one of their last 13 competitive fixtures.
And Hartson believes Rob Page will thrive under the pressure of being manager having been officially announced as Ryan Giggs’s replacement for the upcoming tournament.
“We go into it with a mix of good players,” he added.
“I think Rob Page will be excited about getting the opportunity to lead the side. Being an assistant is totally different from being the number one because all of the big decisions now will be on his head. He’ll be picking the formation and he’ll have the final say on the team.
“But I’m sure it’s a pressure that he’ll enjoy. I’m sure the supporters will get behind him and the team as they always do, even though we won’t have that many travelling fans.”
Meanwhile, Hartson’s hometown club Swansea City are hopeful of having Connor Roberts and Ben Cabango in the Wales squad for the European Championships.
Both men will be aiming to play a key part in Swansea’s push for promotion, with Steve Cooper’s side facing Barnsley in the Championship playoffs this month.
The winner of the semi-final contest will take on either Brentford or Bournemouth in the final at Wembley on Saturday, May 29.
Swansea ended the 2020/21 regular season with 10 more points than they achieved in Cooper’s debut campaign at the Liberty Stadium - with their tally seeing them finish fourth in the table.
And Hartson says the Swans have performed well to reach the top six again given the number of key players they have sold since being relegated from the Premier League in 2018.
“I think Steve Cooper has done very well again to reach the play-offs,” explained Hartson.
“I think he’ll be slightly disappointed with their finish. They lost six out of their last 11.
“You always want to go up through the automatic positions because, in a play-off, how often do you see the sixth team do it. They could be 25 points behind the team that finishes third.
“It can be a bit of a lottery, but I’m sure Steve will get them organised again.
“When they got relegated from the Premier League, they had to lose a lot of their players and they’ve had to rebuild. They’ve had to be patient.
“The likes of Oli McBurnie, Daniel James who left the club. But he’s managed to bring in some loan signings, use his contacts in the game to bring good players to the football club.
“The likes of Ben Cabango and Connor Roberts, I know as a Swans fan, being a local boy down there myself, I know what it means to the supporters. They absolutely love it when it’s one of their own that can come through.”
Former Wales international John Hartson is launching nominations for the 2021 Welsh FA Grassroots Awards, presented by McDonald’s. To nominate your grassroots hero, go to www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ awards.
TOTTENHAM defender Joe Rodon has been unfortunate not to be involved in recent weeks, according to interim boss Ryan Mason.
The Wales centre-half had been in the team under Jose Mourinho but was dropped when Mason took over as the 29-year-old restored his former team-mates Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld into a back four.
Mason said he did that in his first match against Southampton with the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City in mind – a game former Swansea player Rodon was cup-tied for – but he also did not make the matchday squad for the following two fixtures.
Dier was poor in Spurs’ 3-1 defeat at Leeds last week, leading for calls for Rodon to get his place back against Wolves today, and Mason has been impressed with his attitude.
Mason said: “Joe was unfortunate in terms of timing.
“He was cup-tied for the cup final so the first game I felt it was probably right to have the group consistent for what it was going to be in the next game.
“He’s trained well, done well. All the 21 outfield players have competed in training and it’s made it difficult to pick a team and a squad.
“But I’ve been happy with everyone, I think the defence and team has done well.
“So it’s difficult.
“But when you play at a club like this, there’s always going to be disappointed players.
“The most important thing for me is he’s remained professional, he’s worked hard, he’s trained well and he’s been good around the club so that’s a massive tick from me.”