While it was a shock when 18-year-old Ronan Kpakio was called up to Craig Bellamy’s senior men’s international squad, his new manager was typically bullish about the fullback’s talent.

“I think his potential could be ridiculously high,” Bellamy said ahead of Wales’ two World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium in June.

Kpakio had a taste of the senior international environment a month before, when a makeshift squad made up of regulars and youngsters travelled to Spain for some end of season warm weather training.

Kpakio’s rise has been rapid.

The Cardiff academy graduate has only six senior Bluebirds appearances to his name.

He made his debut in the EFL Cup last August before his first league start came on the final day of the Championship season.

Bellamy, who both played and coached at Cardiff, revealed that he has been impressed by Kpakio for some time, having kept tabs on the youngster even while he was part of Burnley’s backroom staff.

“I’ve known Ronan since he was very, very young, I’ve kept an eye on him,” Bellamy added.

“Even last year we wanted to buy him for Burnley, so I’m fully aware, I’ve watched him – especially over the last couple of years, his progression has been outstanding.

“He’s very athletic, very intelligent.

“If he wasn’t injured, I would have had him in March, as he’s a player, especially in the right-back position… where we don’t have a big area [of selection choices] in there, so we really need to start developing players in that position.

“He’s the perfect profile for that.”

For the last decade, Wales have been blessed with high quality fullbacks.

During their first major tournament in a generation, EURO 2016, Wales had three excellent options – Chris Gunter, Neil Taylor, and Ben Davies – and fitted them all in with a back-five formation.

More recently, with Ben Davies transitioning into a ball-playing centre-half, Neco Williams and Connor Roberts have ruled the Welsh flanks, equally capable in both boxes, not to mention in between.

The pair’s quality has been underlined by the introduction of Bellamy’s coaching ideas in the last year. Under previous head coach Rob Page, Roberts and Williams were tasked maintaining width in defence and attack – a more traditional role.

With Bellamy now in charge, the former Wales captain wants his fullbacks to tuck into midfield to help create overloads with the likes of Harry Wilson, Ethan Ampadu, and David Brooks. Such is the athletic quality of the current first choice duo, you will still see them popping up in the wide channels in dangerous crossing positions.

In that respect, Kpakio is an ideal fit for Bellamy’s system. The teenager only turned 18 on May 25th, but in his brief appearances for Cardiff has shown maturity beyond his years.

A capable dibbler and strong in the tackle, his first-time cross for Cian Ashford’s goal in Cardiff City’s 3-2 defeat at Oxford United in December 2024 was a demonstration of the composure and technical ability that the teenager has.

Kpakio has also been a part of the Wales set-up for a long time now. Capped at every level from U16 to U19, he knows exactly what is required to play for Cymru.

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