He
may only be 18, but for Lewin Nyatanga it must seem a lifetime ago that he
was starting out with junior side Littleover Dazzlers. Now, he is a regular
member of John Toshack’s Wales squad since becoming his country’s
youngest ever international in March, and 2007 promises to be another dramatic
year for the central defender. At 16 he was captaining the Wales under-21 side,
and it was against Paraguay, aged 17 years and 195 days, that he won his first
full international cap. His age record may since have been broken by another
promising defender, Gareth Bale, but it is Nyatanga’s club status that
could be key. A Derby player, he is on loan at Sunderland and under the tutelage
of Roy Keane. Notoriously hard to impress, this spell could be the making of
the Burton-born defender, who qualifies for Wales through his mother, but could
also have played for Zimbabwe, his father’s country. If he gets Keane’s
approval, the sky’s the limit.John Stanton
Picture courtesy of Sunderland AFCFootball: Lewin Nyatanga