Cardiff City's Oliver Denham has earned his first Wales senior call-up ahead of the crucial World Cup play-off final against either Scotland or Ukraine on June 5.
Everton striker Nathan Broadhead, who enjoyed a stellar season on loan with Sunderland, has had to withdraw through injury. Uncapped Ipswich Town's Wes Burns, who can play right-back or on the right wing, has also been called up alongside Bluebirds defender Denham.
Rob Page's side have five games in 14 days in June, four of which are in the Nations League and then there is that all-important clash at Cardiff City Stadium a week on Sunday, which will decide whether Wales reach their first World Cup finals since 1958.
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What a time, then, for young Denham to earn his first senior call-up. The 20-year-old centre-back, who joined Cardiff from Manchester United in the summer of 2020, has enjoyed a steep rise this season, culminating in him being a regular fixture at the back for Steve Morison in the end-of-season run-in.
After making his debut under Mick McCarthy against Brighton in the Carabao Cup back in August, Denham started up at Anfield in the FA Cup against Liverpool in January and drew praise from City supporters. Steve Morison was adamant he did not want to send Denham on loan, like James Connolly for example, believing he would have a part to play in the back end of City's campaign.
He was a rock at the back for Cardiff's under-23s throughout the campaign, one of the standouts, in fact, and it led to City boss Morison being left baffled by the youngster's constant omission from Paul Bodin's Wales under-21s squads.
"Players like Oli Denham that have been overlooked for the under-19s, 20s, 21s for a long time and some of the people get in those squads and you just think to yourself, 'what? Do you not come and watch the games?'," Morison said back in March. "We were 11 unbeaten in the under-23s and still players couldn't get in the squad. It's baffling at times."
We have seen these sharp rises before, of course. Rubin Colwill shot out of nowhere to make Page's Euro 2020 squad last year, while Mark Harris has also made his debut within the last 12 months. Some even believe Isaak Davies isn't a million miles away, so it all bodes well for Cardiff and is testament to the work the club are doing in bringing through young talent at the moment.
City boss Morison is clearly a fan of Denham and wanted to see if he could challenge for a regular starting spot next term. With Aden Flint, Ciaron Brown and Sean Morrison all seemingly heading for the exit door this summer, the chance was there for young Denham to grab his opportunity.
He played 90 minutes in five of the last six matches in the Championship and fared reasonably well. He showed some confidence with the ball at his feet — evidenced by when he stepped out of defence to intercept a pass against Sheffield United and started a counter-attack which should have resulted in a Max Watters goal — but he is still a work-in-progress and will need to be more physical next season.
But the signs are good and being called up to Page's squad for this upcoming camp will only benefit him and, in turn, Cardiff City, one would think.
Following the penultimate game against Birmingham City, Denham said: “From the Liverpool match it’s been completely different for me; being promoted to the first team, and these last three weeks playing most games, it’s just been unreal. I’ve just been trying to give my best to help us get results.
“I know what the gaffer wants from me. I know what I need to give him to impress enough to keep me around, and I think that relationship has definitely helped me coming through. [Morison] will tell you what he thinks, so you know what he wants from you and if you do that, he’ll be happy and play you. I’m just showing what I can do and hopefully I can show enough to influence me playing next season.”
With Curtis Nelson, Mark McGuinness and Perry Ng his competition, Denham will fancy his chances when it comes to trying to muscle his way into the starting XI next term. Marking Gareth Bale in training over the next few weeks will certainly sharpen up, that's for sure.
