John Hartson: 'Ashley Williams would walk into the current England side'

John Hartson, a proud Welshman and scorer of 14 goals for his country, has lavished the praise on compatriot Ashley Williams, declaring him as one of Britain's finest in his column for BBC Sport.

The Swansea City and Wales defender is on the verge of skippering Chris Coleman's side to the Euro 2016 finals in France. It would be the first major tournament for the Welsh since 1958.

Just one point from either its trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday or hosting of Andorra on Tuesday will be enough to book its ticket.

"It is obviously hypothetical because he is a proud captain of Wales but I think Ashley Williams would walk into the current England side," Hartson begins his column.

"If there was such a thing as a British XI, there is no doubt he would be in as a centre-half right now."

As a former forward himself, Hartson appreciates the talents of Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, but the former Arsenal, West Ham, and Celtic striker recognises Wales' successes have been built on solid foundations.

"They have conceded just twice - none from open play - and out of the 53 teams in the competition, only Romania have let in fewer goals."

Hartson was insistent that he was not biased in his high opinion of Williams.

"He lives at the bottom of my road and I know him very well, but I am not wearing my Swansea hat or speaking as his friend when I emphasise how good he is, because the statistics and his achievements back it all up."

The 40-year-old notes the former Stockport County defender's physicality and range of passing as some of his greatest assets, and his mentality compares him to an old colleague at Highbury.

"He reminds me of Tony Adams, with whom I played at Arsenal when they had one of the finest defences British football has ever seen.

"Adams was a magnificent leader of men. He led by example and showed us the standards we all had to meet.

"Williams is exactly the same - and I can offer him no higher praise than that. You could not ask for a better captain."

Williams is expected to line up in a familiar back three for Saturday's game in Zenica.