Will Vaulks admits he'd love to return to the Wales fold this month following the hurt of missing out on the European Championship and World Cup squads with his country.
The midfielder was drafted into the international fold by Ryan Giggs in 2019, registering an assist on his debut against Trinidad & Tobago before making his competitive bow as a late substitute against Slovakia four days later.
However, he missed out on a place in Wales' Euro 2020 squad, with his sole international outing in the season prior to the delayed tournament coming in a 3-0 friendly defeat to England at Wembley.
He once again featured in a friendly a year ago, this time against Czech Republic at Cardiff City Stadium, although he did not get any taste of action in the play-off matches against Austria and Ukraine and was subsequently omitted from Rob Page's 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
Despite his international anguish of late, Vaulks has continued to shine for Sheffield Wednesday - who currently sit at the summit of the League One table with multiple games in hand over their nearest automatic promotion rivals.
And the 29-year-old has adopted a diplomatic approach when it comes to his hopes of impressing Page ahead of the head coach's Wales squad announcement next week.
“I was very disappointed to miss out at the World Cup," said the former Cardiff City star. "I missed out on the Euros too and was involved in pretty much every qualifier leading into both tournaments.
“Football is tough at times and it’s great at times and luckily in the spell I’ve missed out on playing a part for the national team, club football has been going well.
“You can only control what you can control. I can only control what I do for Sheffield Wednesday and whether Pagey even watches or he doesn’t, I can’t control that. Whether he selects me or not, I turn out and try to do my best for my club."
Indeed, Wales have something of a dilemma to solve in midfield following the retirement of Joe Allen. The Swansea City man has been a mainstay in the middle of the park for a number of years but now leaves a huge void to fill.
Dylan Levitt could miss out through injury which would further limit Page's options, with Ethan Ampadu, Joe Morrell and Aaron Ramsey being the likely stars to be listed for the midfield slots for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia while Matt Smith is also an option.
But having played a starring role for Sheffield Wednesday in recent months, Vaulks - who was on standby for the World Cup - admits he's desperate to wear the Welsh jersey again, although he has not received contact from boss Page of late.
“I’d love to be back with Wales. How can I say I wouldn’t?" he added. "It’s my country and it’s a massive thing to play for your national team.
"But if it’s not to be under this manager then it’s not to be. It would be nice but we’ll have to wait and see.
“I haven’t had any contact but I don’t think that’s really how Pagey works, he tends to go a bit more under the radar watching games.
“I’m sure he has watched matches and hopefully my club form is enough to have been selected for the camp but there’s only so much I can control and that’s with Sheffield Wednesday.”
Page announces his squad for Wales' first two 2024 European Championship qualifiers on Tuesday afternoon. Wales face Croatia in Split on March 25 before hosting Latvia in Cardiff three days later.
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