Bellamy rejects club offers to commit to Wales

Craig Bellamy has reiterated his commitment to Wales after revealing he has rejected job offers from club sides.

The 46-year-old has been identified as a contender to replace Scott Parker at Burnley, where he worked as assistant manager to Vincent Kompany, now in charge at Bayern Munich.

The Wales head coach has previously been linked with another of his former clubs, Celtic, who are looking for a permanent successor to interim manager Martin O'Neill.

However, Bellamy is eager to lead his country at Euro 2028, and Football Association of Wales (FAW) bosses have told BBC Sport Wales they are "very confident" he will see out his contract, which runs until the end of that tournament.

"Everything's in place, I get completely backed and it's going to give me the opportunity in the next two years to improve again," Bellamy said before Tuesday's friendly against Ghana in Cardiff.

"Links? I understand it but I don't look too far. I love what I have here.

"I've been offered that elsewhere as well, but I have this here already. Wales gave me this opportunity and one or two might not have because I was conscious I haven't managed before. Wales have given me this opportunity and I'm really grateful for that.

"I am ambitious, trust me. I want to earn loads and loads of money but there's a time and now, at this present moment, it just doesn't feel that time."

Appointed on a four-year deal in the summer of 2024, Bellamy made an impressive start as Wales head coach, his first senior managerial role.

The former captain was unbeaten in his opening nine matches, winning promotion to the Nations League's top tier and instilling an attacking new style of play.

However, his first qualifying campaign ended in failure as Wales lost their World Cup play-off final at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina in March.

Bellamy has often been linked with a move into club management, and he has been open about his desire to make that switch after leaving Wales.

However, leading Wales at Euro 2028 - a tournament they will co-host with England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland - is a huge incentive for him.

There have been no formal bids for Bellamy yet, and any potential suitor would have to pay a release clause of at least £700,000 to get him out of his contract with the FAW.

"I couldn't see it being fair for me to walk away. That's not right," said Bellamy.

"I had one or two players ringing up like, 'Is this true?'. Listen, we're not going anywhere. We're going again, we've got another two years.

"I've always wanted to do this role, so I don't want to wish this away. I get great backing, you know, and that's all I can ask for."

Wales have two friendly matches coming up, as they host Ghana at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, before travelling to Bucharest to face Romania on Saturday.

Defenders Ben Davies and Connor Roberts have returned from long-term injuries, but Wales will be without Fulham's in-form and in-demand attacking midfielder Harry Wilson.

With Swansea centre-back Ben Cabango also withdrawing from the squad, Wales have handed first call-ups to uncapped trio Cameron Congreve, Ollie Bostock and Jayden Lienou.

Ticket sales have been slow for the visit of Ghana, one of England's World Cup group opponents, with only about 10,000 sold by Monday afternoon.

"It's a difficult period, I have to be honest," said Bellamy. "Don't forget it was half-term last week, this is a midweek game. If you've been with your kids for a week, I'm not sure I want to take them to a game Tuesday night and spend another two hours with them!

"So I understand quite a lot on this. Our Nations League games will be sold out.

"When I look at our record in June, June friendlies or June competitive games, nowhere near good enough. Thirteen games, nine losses, two wins - one was last year.

"You want to be a serious nation? Our June record's nowhere near, so we have to correct that."