Ex-Liverpool & Newcastle United forward to be appointed as Wales manager after Rob Page sacking

Former Liverpool attacker Craig Bellamy is set to be appointed as the new Wales manager, according to the latest reports.

Bellamy, 44, has emerged as the Football Association of Wales (FAW's) number one choice after the sacking of Rob Page who was sacked in June after a poor run. That included Wales’ failure to quality for Euro 2024 as they fell short, losing on penalties to Poland.

As it stands, Bellamy is currently at Burnley, where he was the acting head coach after Vincent Kompany’s departure to Bayern Munich. New boss Scott Parker has been announced but it seems Bellamy, who was set to be his assistant, has his eye set on managing his country. BBC Sport Wales has confirmed that the final details of a deal are still to be agreed with both Bellamy and Burnley. He narrowly missed out to Ryan Giggs for the job in 2018, and is said to have impressed during discussions.

His first game will be a Nations League home tie against Turkey on 6 September, followed by a trip to Montenegro on 9 September. And the focus will be leading his side in qualification for the 2026 World Cup after Page’s efforts in getting Wales to the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

After making his debut for Wales as a player in 1998, aged just 18, he went on to net 19 times in 78 games. However, he never featured at a major tournament across his 15-year career for The Dragons. He did feature at the 2012 Olympics under Stuart Pearce as he started all four games for Great Britain, scoring once before they were dumped out of the competition on penalties against South Korea.

In terms of his career at Liverpool, he won the League Cup in 2012, the Community Shield and was runner-up in the Champions League and FA Cup. He netted 18 times and provided 13 assists in 79 games across two spells at the club, first arriving in 2006, where he stayed for one year, before returning in 2011 for another season.