David Raya had a loan spell at Southport before winning the Premier League with Arsenal, while Jordan Pickford spent time with Darlington and Alfreton Town on his way to a European Championship final and two World Cup semi-finals with England. A non-league apprenticeship, it seems, can help a goalkeeper reach great heights. That appeared to form part of Craig Bellamy's thinking when he announced his Wales squad for this month's Nations League matches against Norway and Portugal.
The one new name was Joe Duncan, a 20-year-old goalkeeper on loan at National League side Southend United from Bristol City. Born in Bristol, Duncan was involved with Jamaica's youth set-up prior to committing to Wales, earning two under-21 caps before his surprise first call-up to the senior squad on Wednesday. Wilson returns as Wales call up uncapped Duncan His ascension to the higher echelons of the game has come sooner than expected, but he won't be thrown in for a debut in Oslo next weekend against Erling Haaland and company.
Instead, given Wales' dearth of goalkeeping options, Bellamy wants to take a closer look at some prospects for the future. "You have to start somewhere as a goalkeeper, you have to learn your trade," the Wales head coach says. "I love goalkeepers playing lower leagues, especially development goalkeepers, the ones who are looking to push through, because they [non-league players] are going to bump you and ask questions of you.
"Maybe you get over-protected the higher you go but, in those leagues, I think we quite enjoy watching those games because you're not getting anything. It's perfect, the way I see it, for a young goalkeeper. "He's not someone who's always been on our radar because he hasn't been available to us.
I have to be honest, everything I've seen with him at Southend, I really like." It helps that Southend's manager is one of Bellamy's best friends from his playing days, former Newcastle and West Ham team-mate Kieron Dyer. "Kieron loves [Duncan] and I respect his view on football," Bellamy says. "His IQ on the game is one of the best I've been involved with." Bellamy has been to watch Duncan play for Southend but kept a low profile, so as not to distract the young keeper.
"That was the same week [England manager Thomas] Tuchel was watching PSG in the Champions League, so the world's different, but enjoyable," the ex-Wales captain grins. Bellamy rummages further down the leagues than most of his international coaching peers because, quite simply, he has to. There's not much out there in terms of Welsh goalkeepers.
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