Euro 2016 - The man who would be King: Wales star eyeing 5 million-to-one shot

It would be the most astonishing double in sporting history; a 5,000,000-1 shot. But after winning the Premier League with Leicester City, who is to say that Andy King will not end the summer a European as well as English champion?

To Leicester’s odds of 5,000-1 for the Premier League we can add Wales’ odds of 1,000-1 to win Euro 2016 at the outset of qualifying. Betting on both combined generates odds of 5 million to one. And King, a rather unlikely protagonist for what could be a staggeringly unlikely feat, is just two games away from hitting the football lottery.

“I said [we could win it] in Portugal on our training camp and everyone kind of laughed at me,” said King this week. “Everyone kind of chuckled and thought: ‘yeah OK’. But this has the same sort of feeling. There are a lot of similarities – we have good players, a good squad and a real togetherness and team bond. It was an unbelievable feeling and a great performance against Belgium. There are just two games to go now so why not?”

King is not Jamie Vardy or Gareth Bale; he is not even N’Golo Kante or Aaron Ramsey. For both Leicester and Wales he has hovered on the fringes, slotting in when required but generally adding ballast as part of the supporting cast. He started only seven Premier League matches prior to Leicester clinching the title and is yet to get in Chris Coleman’s starting XI in France.

The two matches in which he did appear from the bench were Wales’ two standout performances of the Euros: the 3-0 win over Russia in the group stages and the 3-1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals. But the scoring was finished in the former when he got on to the pitch and Wales had already got themselves back in front in the latter, with Sam Vokes going on to add a late goal. On both occasions he replaced Joe Ledley in Wales’ two-man central midfield for around 15 minutes.

Is he ready, then, for what seems likely to be the biggest game of his career on Wednesday when Wales play Portugal in the first semi-final in Lyon?

Ramsey’s suspension, enforced when he picked up his second yellow card in five games during the quarter-final win over Belgium, means there is a vacancy in the Wales midfield. It could be filled by Jonny Williams or David Edwards, but King is rumoured to be the player on Coleman’s mind. He is a more defensive player than Ramsey, much less expansive, but that could be no bad thing against a Portugal side blessed with the resurgent Nani, Renato Sanches, who has been one of the revelations of the tournament, and of course Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal are missing their midfield anchor William Carvalho but could reintroduce Joao Moutinho, who started Portugal’s three unimpressive group games at the tournament before being dropped for the knockouts. He is a more creative player, capable of scooping a pass over the top and taking a defence out of the game in an instant, so if given the space to operate Portugal do possess a wide array of threats. King’s role, if he plays, will be a crucial one.

Leicester’s longest-serving player has seen it all at club level, winning league titles at three different levels with the Foxes. He has stepped up to every new challenge, asserting himself when the competition becomes that bit more rigorous. Indeed, only this week it was reported that he will be offered a new contract by Leicester, even after they signed Nampalys Mendy .

He is not a star player, but King is the kind of character every squad needs: loyal, uncomplaining, ready. The semi-finals of the European Championship might overwhelm him. But with Wales just two games away from a feat to rival Leicester’s, lightning could be about to strike in the same place twice.