Wales’ Aaron Ramsey wouldn’t swap Gareth Bale for any Belgium stars

Aaron Ramsey has insisted he would not swap Gareth Bale for any of Belgium’s Premier League stars ahead of their opening 2014 World Cup qualifier on Friday night.

Belgium manager Marc Wilmots has talented players such as captain Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini, Kevin Mirallas and Mousa Dembele to choose from in his squad.

But Ramsey is more than happy to be playing alongside Tottenham Hotspur winger Bale, insisting the former Southampton youth graduate will be a key figure for Wales as Chris Coleman’s side look to beat Belgium at the Cardiff City Stadium.

“I personally wouldn’t [swap him], no,” said Ramsey. “He has been doing what he does for a couple of years, creating and scoring goals and always being a threat to the opposition.

“He gets in behind teams and takes on players and has the quality to whip in a cross, or come inside and shoot from distance and cause a problem for the keeper.

“He can create things and he has shown that against top quality defenders. He has got a few hat-tricks, including one against Inter Milan where he tore Maicon apart.

“He has done it a number of times, he has scored a lot of goals and created a lot of chances and he is a player who could be key to unlocking a defence.

“You can’t say he has had a slow start to the season, he has created chances in the games I have seen. Tottenham have had a tough start to the season but he has shown on the training pitch what quality he has.”