"He's had a fantastic few months," Ian Rush said of Lewis Koumas, and the timing is useful for Wales. Kieffer Moore has withdrawn from the squad for the Nations League double-header with Norway and Portugal because of injury, and Rush thinks Koumas should be in the frame whether he starts or not.

Wales' striker decision

Rush does not sound fully sold on Koumas as a natural number nine, but he is clear about the value he offers. "I think now is the time for Wales, whether he starts or not, I think he'll be more experienced now," he said. "I'm not sure he's number nine, but I'll tell you what, what he gives to the team is something special."

That view fits the workload he has already had. Koumas has featured 14 times across all competitions under Andoni Iraola this season, and he has made 7 Premier League appearances. Rush also pointed to his all-round game, saying, "He might not score, but he can make things happen for other people."

Wales play Norway in Oslo on Saturday at 17:00 GMT before hosting Portugal in Cardiff on Tuesday at 19:45 GMT. Those are the games where Craig Bellamy has to decide whether Koumas is a starter, an option from the bench or the man asked to do a different kind of job up front.

Liverpool's standard under Rush

Rush's other message was about Liverpool, and he is not moving the bar much lower than top four and a trophy. The club are fourth in the Premier League with 18 points from 10 matches, and eighth in the UEFA Champions League standings with 9 points from 4 matches.

"It's getting better, but I think there's still a lot more we can do," Rush said. He added that Liverpool are in the top four now and need to stay there, then went a step further: "Obviously we'd like to win a trophy, we're still in every trophy."

That is a fair standard for a club of Liverpool's size and for a season that still has enough in play. Rush also said the side have ground out results against Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Brighton, while a return of injured players from January would leave them looking stronger.

Top four is the minimum in his view, and a trophy is the other half of the job. Liverpool head into the next stage of the season with those targets still live.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →