Town loanee Jonny Williams is operating alongside — and learning from — one of the best players in the world when he turns out for Wales at international level.

Kent-born Williams qualifies through his Anglesey-born father and won his fifth senior cap as a substitute in last week’s 3-1 home victory over Iceland.

Last season’s Young Player of the Year at parent club Crystal Palace, the 20-year-old midfielder replaced Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, who cost a staggering £100 million from Tottenham last summer.

Williams said: “It is an unbelievable experience to be in the same squad as a player of Gareth’s ability. I know Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal is injured at the moment but he’s another top-class midfielder and when he’s fit again Wales will have two of the very best midfielders in the business.

“They are great players and you learn from them every day in training. It’s a shame Craig Bellamy’s gone because I really enjoyed playing with him as well. He’s a great player and he’ll be missed for sure.

“With guys like Gareth and Aaron you learn a lot just from being around them, both on and off the pitch. Training and playing alongside players of their ability is a great experience for all of us.

“These are very exciting times with Wales, especially with the draw for Euro 2016, and I can’t wait for the qualifying campaign to start. We had a great result last week and things are really looking up.”

Meanwhile, while Williams knows he will be returning to Palace after his spell with the Blues, he admits to being in the dark about his long-term future.

He added: “Palace are the club I’ve grown up with but who knows what the future holds? For example, a year ago I wouldn’t have said that I’d be coming to Ipswich on loan so I don’t really have any idea. I’ve signed a new deal at Palace and I’m happy there for the moment.”

Can Palace, promoted under Ian Holloway’s stewardship but now relying on ex-Stoke boss Tony Pulis to keep them up, maintain their top-flight status?

Williams said: “I think it’s going to be tight so we’ll just have to wait and see. Obviously, I’m hoping we do stay in the Premier League. Maybe if we hadn’t got promoted last season I’d have played more games this season, but maybe not.

“The [ankle] injury I picked up [in September] killed that really because I was just starting to play more and more when it happened. It was a real shame but I’ve had experience of Premiership football and nobody can take that away from me.”

Photo: Action Images

pazelle added 13:29 - Mar 11 He was young player of the year over Zaha?
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blueherts added 14:36 - Mar 11 Wales have some pretty decent talent coming through , soobe their national sport before Rugby !!!
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Seasider added 15:14 - Mar 11 I do hope he gets a start for the first time tonight;but to do that he has to displace McCarthy's favourite Tabby. We now know why he continually plays him Nouble and Gerken,because when our Manager went through a bad patch in his playing career he was allowed to play through this,and according to him came through the otherside as a better player. What he seems to forget is the other players that are continually being kept out to the detriment of the performances,as is situation at the moment.

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bluefeast added 15:43 - Mar 11 He wont get a start with us , MM likes big runners as opposed to small and skilful. MM would pick Duncan Ferguson over Messi. He would care what the worl thought. MM way or the highway.
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BroskiBeen added 15:49 - Mar 11 Things are looking good for Wales with the new format of Euro Qualifying and the squad, Williams will play a part of that for sure he is a quality player and if MM doesn't start him V Yeovil he is off his rocker, lol, but anyone forget about Elliott Hewitt he was called up to the Wales U21 last week he will one day get in the Wales senior squad and learn from the likes of Bale who was once a fullback and Centre Back Ashley Williams ECT I think personally we should re-call Hewitt and ease him into the team ready for next season, as we saw last game Chambers isn't a RB and can be exploited, Hewitt is a RB and relatively quick.

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parhamblue added 15:50 - Mar 11 It'd be nice if all the best players with the same passport could play in the same team ... or is that too radical an idea?
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GerkensBeard added 17:50 - Mar 11 I think he will start tonight or if not he will defo start Saturday. Reasons for this is that he was loaned out by palace in need of game time. Pulis and MM probably have an agreement to that I should imagine. He was due to start at home to B'ham last week having only been at the club 2 days so he is definitely going to get starts sooner rather than later. Unfortunately we may not see the best from him as previous comments from himself and MM have looked towards him being out wide left instead of his preferred position in the centre. Quality player we need to get the best out of him for the time he is here.

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