Leeds United youngster Charlie Crew has been drafted into Wales’ Under-19 group for the final qualification round ahead of this summer’s U19 European Championships. The recent Leeds debutant and full Welsh international remains eligible to represent the U19 group having only turned 18 last June.
Wales are scheduled to play England (Wednesday, March 19), Portugal (Saturday, March 22) and Turkey (Tuesday, March 25) in a qualification triple header. Crew and his fellow countrymen are unfancied to make it through to the final tournament which will be hosted in Romania this summer, particularly with the might of England and Portugal in their Elite Round qualification group. However, Crew’s involvement with the U19s suggests the FA Wales hierarchy are taking this qualifying bid seriously by reuniting the former U17s skipper with many of his peers who qualified for the Euros at that age group two summers ago. “They’re three brilliant games, ones that will test us in different ways, so I’m really looking forward to playing opponents of the quality that they are,” Crew told Wales’ official social media channels.
“I feel like that’ll [leadership] always come with the experiences I’ve had, so it’s just about helping everyone in different ways and showing my quality as well.” Crew is a regular with the Wales U21 setup and more recently departed Thorp Arch to go on loan to Doncaster Rovers in a bid to gain more valuable first-team exposure in league football. He made his full international debut last year in a friendly against Gibraltar and his Leeds bow off the bench against Plymouth Argyle earlier this season. The 18-year-old will be expected to play a significant portion of the 270 minutes on offer over the next week, which will aid in his development and likely please club boss Daniel Farke, who has taken a shine to the young Welshman since taking the Elland Road job.
Since joining Grant McCann’s Rovers on loan in January, Crew has played eight times which has included seven starts. His Leeds contract runs until June 2028.
Be the first to comment