Bellamy Praises How Liverpool Have Handled Koumas
Craig Bellamy knows Liverpool from the inside, and he likes what he sees in Lewis Koumas. Wales' manager credits the club for the way the 21-year-old has been brought along.
Why Bellamy fancies him at nine
Wales play Norway in Oslo on Saturday 14 November, with kick-off at 17:00 GMT, in the Nations League. Koumas could matter there.
Wales beat Stale Solbakken's side in the last international window. A second win would help their chances of staying in League A, the top tier of the competition.
Bellamy likes the forward at nine. He says Koumas ticks a lot of the boxes of a top player, with intensity and sprint distance through the roof. Bellamy remembers Carlos Tevez doing something similar for him at Manchester City: when a player like that goes, the rest feel they have to move too. It must be controlled, he adds, but the willingness excites him.
Liverpool's way with a young player
"I like what Liverpool have done with him," Bellamy said. He said the club had exposed the forward to top-level football but also knew when to take him out.
Bellamy has a feel for the club. He played for Liverpool in two spells and scored 18 goals in 79 games. He admits he has a Liverpool head on at times. What he singles out is the player's enthusiasm and intensity.
In his view, the Champions League is doing the forward good: "There is nothing higher and that's only going to help us." Koumas has scored his first goal in that competition, in a 6-3 away win at Austrian side LASK.
Three loans in the second tier
A loan sends a young player to another club to get regular games, and Koumas had three of them in the Championship. The results were mixed. At Stoke City in 2024-25 he made 31 starts and scored six goals. A disappointing stint at Birmingham City followed. Hull City were next, and he helped them go up to the Premier League in the second half of last season.
Bellamy was surprised by the amount of Championship game time Koumas had at such a young age. He said loans can be hit and miss, but they will not define a career. Liverpool felt a loan was right, he said. Their decision to keep him for this year's pre-season, in his view, is a real example of progressing a top young talent.
A breakout season
This season has been a breakout one for him, with Liverpool and with Wales. He scored his first Wales goal against Ghana in a friendly in June.
He is a regular in Liverpool's matchday squads under Andoni Iraola and has nine appearances in total this season.
Source: BBC Sport