Luton defender believes he has done all he can to earn a place in Wales' World Cup squad

Luton centre half Tom Lockyer insists he there isn’t much more he could have done to try and force his way into the Wales squad for the World Cup which starts in Qatar next month.

Manager Robert Page has to submit his group of between 23 to 26 players by November 13 for the tournament that sees the Welsh in the same group as England, USA and Iran.

Lockyer, 27, who was part of the Euro 2020 squad, although didn’t get on in any of the matches, has 14 caps to his name, but has fallen out of favour in recent months, his last appearances coming in a 0-0 friendly in Finland back in September 2021, where he played the full 90 minutes.

With Wales kicking off their tournament against the USA, whom team-mate Ethan Horvath is hoping to be in goal for, on November 21, Lockyer has given himself every chance with his form for Luton in recent weeks.

He has started 11 of the last 12 Championship matches, Town keeping four clean sheets in that time and has become one of the first names on the teamsheet for Nathan Jones with a string of excellent performances.

The centre half hopes that Page has been watching, as he said: “I spoke to the Wales gaffer in the summer and I said to him, my plan is to try and hit the ground running this year and try to force my way in that way.

"He said ‘fantastic go for it,’ he’ll be watching out, then he’d try to get me in a camp moving forward.

"It didn’t happen in September but hopefully you never know in November.

"Apart from maybe scoring a couple of goals, there’s not much else I can be doing to stake my claim.

"Of course I’d love to go out, I love my time going out with Wales.

"I've been out of it for a while now and I’m itching to get back.”