A Welsh goalkeeper being first choice for a professional football club is a rare thing. In the past 100 years there have as many British individuals who have won the Wimbledon singles as there are Welsh goalkeepers playing as the first choice for a professional football club today (and not one of those first choice ‘keepers play at a level that is remotely close to top level international football – think more San Marino than Spain).
The past 20 years have been dominated by two individuals between the sticks for Wales. Wayne Hennessey made his debut as a 20-year-old in 2007 and went on to win 109 caps over the next 16 years. His main rival over that period was Danny Ward, who has 49 caps since his 2016 debut.
Almost unbelievably, in the past 10 and a half years only four Welshmen have made their goalkeeping debut for Wales:
| Goalkeeper | Debut | Age at debut |
| Danny Ward | March 2016 | 22 |
| Adam Davies | March 2019 | 26 |
| Tom King | June 2024 | 29 |
| Karl Darlow | September 2024 | 33 |
Since 2016, Wales have introduced three goalkeepers, none of whom were younger than 26.
By my maths, in those years the four Welsh debutants plus Hennessey were available for 49 full seasons between them (Hennessey retired at the end of the 2024/2025 season) and were the first choice for their club in only 13.5 of those seasons (I’m counting Tom King’s 21 starts for Salford City and eight starts for Northampton Town in League Two in 2022/2023 as the half season).
In 2019, Hennessey played 10 times for Wales and seven times for his club. He repeated the trick in 2022; 10 caps for Wales and four games of club football. When he started the opening match of the 2022 World Cup in November he’d started just three club games in that calendar year.
Danny Ward can tell a very similar story. He was Wales’ starting goalkeeper at Euro 2020 (played in 2021) having not played a single league match in the preceding season.
Wales having few goalkeepers playing first-team professional football is not a new problem, but even Craig Bellamy has now gone public in admitting that a bigger problem may be coming over the horizon very soon.
Does anyone play today?
Today, two goalkeepers compete to be Wales’ number 1. Danny Ward (33) and Karl Darlow (36) will likely play more for Wales in the 2026/2027 season than they will for their clubs.
Ward has had a very odd career. He has spent so long sitting on the bench that he must be booked in for regular splinter removal surgery. Up to the beginning of the 2026/2027 season he has played 49 times for Wales and only 109 times in the league. He played half a season as Aberdeen’s first choice in the 2015/2016 Scottish Premiership, a full season for Huddersfield Town in the 2016/2017 Championship and Leicester City in most of the 2022/2023 Premier League season – that’s it.
When Alisson signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2018 Ward was demoted to Liverpool’s fourth-choice. Leicester City, two years after winning the Premier League, promptly paid around £12.5 million for him – making him the seventh most expensive Premier League goalkeeper in Premier League history at the time.
What did they do with their new prized asset? They stuck him on the bench.
With Hennessey’s international career winding down, Ward probably thought his time as Wales’ undisputed number 1 had come. Unfortunately, he hadn’t reckoned on Karl Darlow suddenly deciding he was Welsh after all.
Darlow was born in Northampton but is eligible to play for Wales through his Welsh-born grandfather. Ken Leek played for Wales in the 1960s. Wales first came knocking for Darlow in 2018 – he said no. In 2020 he reaffirmed his desire to play for England – “it’s the one thing that as a child you want to do” and he “would love nothing more”. Come 2024, he clearly realised that (i) he was never going to get a phone call from the FA; and (ii) in a Hennessey-less world he would probably be Wales’ number 1.
He made his debut in September 2024, a few weeks before his 34th birthday, before eventually establishing himself as Leeds United’s number 1 in the Premier League. However, it must have dawned on Darlow that Wales are not allowed a goalkeeper who plays as his club’s first choice in the Football League, let alone the Premier League. He promptly contracted ‘Danny Ward syndrome’ (it must have been passed to him during a Wales goalkeeping training session) and moved to Manchester United in the summer of 2026 to warm the bench and play the odd Carabao Cup match.
Where are the next generation?
As Craig Bellamy admitted in a November 2026 press conference, 36-year-old Karl Darlow and 33-year-old Danny Ward will not go on forever – “It’s a clear issue because of the age of our goalkeepers.”
What is Bellamy’s current solution to the problem? The selection of a 20-year-old playing his first season of football in the National League, Joe Duncan.
I have no idea if Duncan is any good, for all I know he could be the next Neville Southall. But the fact that a young National League goalkeeper is two injuries away from playing against Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes in November 2026 is concerning.
But who else could Bellamy have picked? On the day he picked his squad for the Nations League matches against Norway and Portugal on the 14th and 17th of November respectively, there are only six Welshmen who are fit and playing first-team professional football.
Not one of them are playing for one of the 92 English league clubs:
| Goalkeeper | Age | Current Club | Relevant Experience |
| Joe Duncan | 20 | Southend United (on loan from Bristol City) | National League |
| Eddie Beach | 23 | Shelbourne | League of Ireland |
| Lewis Webb | 25 | Coleraine | Northern Ireland Premiership |
| Nathan Shepperd | 26 | The New Saints | Cymru Premier |
| Ronnie Hollingshead | 22 | King’s Lynn Town | National League North |
| Logan Stretch | 20 | Buxton (on loa from Sheffield Wednesday) | National League North |
Owen Evans (29) would likely be number 1 for Altrincham in the National League but he is injured. Similar with Lewys Benjamin (20) at AFC Telford in the National League North.
If we make this a group of eight: we have one playing in the League of Ireland; two in the National League; three in National League North; one in the Cymru Premier and one in the Northern Ireland Premiership.
Of this group, Eddie Beach is probably the most interesting. The 23-year-old has been playing regularly in the League of Ireland this year, first for Derry City and then Shelbourne. He’s also represented Wales at Under-21 level. On the face of it, you might think he’d be a more obvious candidate for a senior call-up than somebody playing in the National League.
But how good is the League of Ireland? It’s probably stronger than the National League, although it’s hardly La Liga. Put it this way: since November 1985, the Republic of Ireland have given competitive international appearances to just one player from their own domestic league. Jack Byrne played twice in November 2020, and nobody has done so since.
Perhaps Bellamy simply thinks Duncan is better than Beach. I have absolutely no idea, having watched neither of them play. But it’s a strange situation when one of the more experienced young Welsh goalkeepers plays in a league that even the Republic of Ireland rarely considers good enough for its own national team.
If we dig a little deeper, there are a few others worth mentioning:
| Goalkeeper | Age | Current Club | Relevant Experience |
| Evan Watts | 22 | Swansea City | League of Ireland |
| Kit Margetson | 20 | Manchester United | Cymru Premier |
| Luke Armstrong | 20 | Raith Rovers (on loan from Cardiff City) | Cymru Premier |
| Aidan Stokes | 18 | Brentford (on loan from New York Red Bulls) | MLS Next Pro |
| Daniel Barden | 25 | Stevenage | Championship (in 2020/2021) |
Evan Watts is another young goalkeeper that could develop. The 22-year-old Swansea City man played 21 league matches on loan at Galway United in 2026 before being recalled in June. He was playing first-team football in Ireland, but is now back playing for Swansea’s Under-21s. Presumably there is a reason Swansea wanted him back, but from Wales’ perspective it would surely be preferable if he were still playing competitive senior football somewhere.
Kit Margetson signed for Manchester United from Swansea City in the summer of 2026, having played regularly for Connah’s Quay Nomads in the Cymru Premier. The son of former Wales goalkeeper coach Martyn Margetson has a long way to go, but young players who get nowhere near the Manchester United first team often go on to have perfectly respectable careers in the Football League. Think of Regan Poole, who most Manchester United fans probably have no idea ever existed, but is now playing regularly in the Championship for Portsmouth.
Aidan Stokes is an intriguing prospect. The American-born 18-year-old, currently on loan at Brentford B, has represented the USA, England and Wales at youth level. He played regularly for New York Red Bulls II before coming to England. Again, I haven’t seen him play and wouldn’t recognise him if he moved in next door, but Brentford have a decent record of identifying young talent.
Stokes also looks like an obvious candidate for a Ben Woodburn or Harry Wilson-style selection. Wilson was given his Wales debut in the 87th minute of a World Cup qualifier at just 16, amid interest from England. Bellamy, who played in that match, later questioned the wisdom of selecting somebody so young principally to secure their international allegiance – “I’d like to see him do well first [before being capped].”, “He can’t play for anyone else now, but is that really the most important thing?”.
England 11 – 0 Wales
As Wales has a population just over three million compared to England’s nearly 60 million you’d have thought they’d have goalkeepers all over the place. They have quite a few but not as many as you’d instinctively think.
Five of the Premier League number 1s are English, and there are six in the Championship – so 11 out of 44, 25%. To me, this does not sound like a lot.
While Jordan Pickford is established at Everton and Dean Henderson the same at Crystal Palace; James Trafford and Carl Rushworth are youngsters just starting their careers and a 30-year-old Christian Walton at Ipswich Town is not a serious international prospect.
James Beadle (22) at Birmingham City (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion) has played many times for the England youth teams but none of the other Championship starting goalkeepers will realistically get a chance in the Premier League any time soon.
Sam Johnstone is starting for Celtic this season and there are a few youngsters playing in League One and League Two that Wales would snap up in a heartbeat if a Welsh grandmother was identified, but even so, England do not have dozens and dozens of top goalkeepers. Realistically, if Pickford, Henderson, Trafford (the three England goalkeepers at the 2026 World Cup) were injured Tuchel is picking Carl Rushworth (playing his first Premier League campaign this season); Nick Pope (he can’t get into Newcastle United’s team this season); and probably Birmingham City’s James Beadle.
The drop off in quality and experience is quite steep, but Wales would bite your hand off for a batch of goalkeepers who actually play professional football, week in, week out, at a good level.
Is Wales the only Home Nation with this problem?
The team that finished third in the most recent World Cup and can pick from a population that is almost twenty times that of Wales is maybe not the best comparator – but the other Home Nations and the Republic of Ireland are definitely more appropriate.
I think that today Wales would switch goalkeeping stocks with Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if they could.
The Republic of Ireland have Caoimhín Kelleher as Brentford’s Premier League number 1; Max O’Leary as West Bromwich Albion’s Championship number 1; and Gavin Bazunu who would be Bolton Wanderer’s Championship number 1 if it were not for an injury. Kelleher and O’Leary would be Wales’ number 1, and maybe even Bazunu. Josh Keeley at Luton Town and Mark Travers at Everton would likely be in Wales’ squad.
Wales have a population that is more than 50% larger than Northern Ireland’s but again, I would say they have the better batch of goalkeepers. 21-year-old Pierce Charles is starting for Queens Park Rangers in the Championship. Conor Hazard starts in League One for Wycombe Wanderers and Bailey Peacock-Farrell does the same for Blackpool. Hazard and Peacock-Farrell are each no Paul Jones, but Wales would love a Pierce Charles.
What about Scotland? This is maybe the most interesting comparison. They have three goalkeepers playing a decent level as number 1. Angus Gunn is their Karl Darlow, Gunn decided he was Scottish after all when he was 27 – he currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS as their first-choice, it is likely that Darlow could get a number 1 gig in the MLS. The other three goalkeepers in their most recent squad are Falkirk’s Scottish Premiership number 1, Bradford City’s League One number 1 and Rangers’ Scottish Premiership reserve. Out of the Scottish Premiership’s 12 clubs, only one has a definitive Scottish number 1.
Bellamy must have nightmares each night about a Scottish style goalkeeping crisis in Wales. In June 2025, injuries ruled out five senior goalkeepers and forced manager Steve Clarke to call up an 18-year-old and a goalkeeper who was between clubs. Scotland played Iceland in a friendly – their fourth-choice got injured in the warm up, their fifth-choice got injured during the game. 22-year-old Cieran Slicker came on and the sixth-choice had a Massimo Taibi style stinker.
For their friendly against Liechtenstein three days later Scotland called up Ross Doohan, a free agent who had just left Aberdeen where he’d been a reserve, and Callan McKenna, an 18-year-old who had played a few games in the Scottish Premiership.
Notwithstanding Scotland’s one-off crisis, would Bellamy pick the San Jose Earthquakes and Falkirk number 1s in his squad? I think he would.
What happens if Wales have a goalkeeping crisis of their own?
If Wales had to pick their fifth, sixth and seventh choice goalkeepers in a Scotland 2025 style crisis, what would they do?
Deep within the FAW’s highly secure vaults, disaster planning documents reveal the answer. Tom Jones, 86, and Nessa from Gavin & Stacey, who previously coached at Coventry City alongside Steve Ogrizovic and already owns a pair of Sondico goalkeeping gloves, would receive emergency call-ups.
Bellamy has now openly acknowledged the shortage of Welsh goalkeepers coming through the system. His selection of Joe Duncan suggests he’s trying to do something about it – this picks feels bold but is it when the alternatives are the Sheffield United second-choice (Adam Davies) or Everton third-choice (Tom King)? He does not have a 35-year-old Mark Crossley in the background or a 21-year-old Wayne Hennessey playing as a number 1 in the Championship who could fill that third goalkeeper slot.
Realistically, other than a ‘make him Welsh’ pick for Aidan Stokes, the only real alternative being Eddie Beach from the League of Ireland (remember, Ireland do not pick League of Ireland players) shows the scale of the problem.
During Euro 2028 (if Wales qualify) Darlow will be 37 and Ward will turn 35.
In the 2028-2032 cycle between Euros, which goalkeeper will win the most Wales caps? Unless we find another Darlow (maybe Jason Steele or Freddie Woodman will discover that their middle name is Llewellyn?) we could easily be in a situation where no Welshman (i) has more than 10 caps; and (ii) plays as a first-choice professional goalkeeper – I can feel Nessa doing her warm-ups now.
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