Which North Wales football January transfers are we featuring today? Numbers 31-40!
No one-liners from us. We try to find out as much detail as possible about our transfer subjects. Here are 10 more from North Wales’ January batch.
Callum Parry (Porthmadog to Llanrwst United)
Callum is back at Parc Gwydir for a third time.
The 24-year-old first made his mark with the Rwsters in 2019-20, when he netted 30 goals in all competitions before landing a January move to Cymru North outfit Colwyn Bay.
He made seven appearances for the Seagulls and scored his debut goal for the club in a 3-1 win over Llanfair United in February 2020 prior to the season being curtailed because of the worldwide pandemic.
In January 2021, Parry joined Holyhead Hotspur on loan until the end of a season which never got underway below tier 1 due to Covid. He appeared three times for Hotspur at the start of 2021-22 before returning to Llanrwst.
Yet again, he was a resounding success with the Rwsters in tier 3 Ardal North West, scoring 27 times in 25 appearances, plus two for the reserves.
Callum was also part of the Cymru North squad in the UEFA Regions Cup squad last summer.
The player joined Cymru North Porthmadog this season and netted on his debut in a Nathaniel MG Cup defeat at Ruthin. He notched six goals in 20 games before deciding to renew acquaintances with Llanrwst once more.
Ryan Roberts (Kinmel Bay to Holywell Town)
Ryan is a highly-rated 18-year-old from Llanddulas who signs for Cymru North high-flyers Holywell Town from Kinmel Bay.
An ex-scholar at Connah’s Quay, he has scored 7 goals in 15 games this season from midfield for tier 4 North Wales Coast East Premier Division club Bay.
Holywell manager Johnny Haseldin said: “Ryan has been training with us for a couple of months alongside playing at Kinmel Bay.
“He’s a young, hungry player with bags of ability and a great attitude – the type of player we want to bring in at Holywell.
“I want to help Ryan reach his potential and feel he’s at the right club to do that.”
Mike Chapman (Betws-y-Coed to Bow)
One of the great goalscorers in lower-tier football in North Wales.
Chapman has been a dynamic net-buster wherever he has played. In Llandudno Albion’s first-ever season, 2014-15, he pocketed 37 goals, including seven hat-tricks and scored eight times in one game.
He next had a productive spell with Llanfairfechan Town under Sandy Malone, who then took over Llandudno Amateurs and brought Chapman with him.
Mike was a big success with the Amateurs in their first three seasons, but decided to move to Llandudno Athletic in January 2020 due to travelling issues in the then Welsh Alliance.
Athletic disbanded at the end of that 2019-20 season and Chapman was back with Llandudno Amateurs when football resumed after Covid in 2021-22.
Chapman hit 23 for the Amateurs last season before manager Malone brought him to CPD Gronant in December 2021.
He netted four on his debut for Gronant in the North East Wales League and notched 16 in 13 games before the end of the campaign.
So, a total of 39 goals in Division One in 2021-22.
This season saw Chapman lend a hand to Betws-y-Coed, who were experiencing a player shortage, in North Wales Coast East Division One. Sadly the Conwy Valley outfit disbanded in December.
Mike is now taking on a new challenge as he joins Prestatyn-based Bow.
He said: “I’m looking forward to a new challenge and making new mates. Thanks to Bow FC for understanding my current work commitments and giving me the chance to get some time on the pitch and hopefully help Bow earn some silverware.”
Sam Rickett (Ruthin Town to Airbus UK Broughton)
Quality 20-year-old midfielder who made his Cymru Premier League debut for Airbus as a sub at home to Caernarfon Town on Tuesday.
Sam first made his mark in the Connah’s Quay Nomads side which competed in the Cymru Premier Development North in 2019/20.
He then featured in numerous match-day squads Nomads’ first team in their title-winning 2020-21 campaign.
In 2021-22, Sam moved to Cymru North Ruthin Town, making 23 league appearances and scoring in a 4-2 victory over Colwyn Bay.
This season he netted in Ruthin’s 4-1 opening night triumph over Porthmadog in the Nathaniel MG Cup and went on to feature in 23 matches before joining the Wingmakers.
Josh Pugh (CPD Llangoed)
Guess who is back with the mighty Puffins?
Josh Pugh, that’s who.
One of the finest young players to emerge at the club in recent times has returned to football after a two-year break.
Josh was named Llangoed Under-18’s Supporters Player in 2020. He was promoted to the first team having also spent time at the Caernarfon Town academy.
This vocal defensive midfielder will be a welcome addition back to the side.
Didn’t have masses of detail for this one, but I was determined to give the Potent Puffins a Publicity Push!
Tyler French (Caernarfon Town to Conwy Borough)
A really good signing for Cymru North club Conwy Borough in the shape of an experienced keeper still just in his mid-20’s.
Tyler, 26, played for a number of good level clubs in North Wales, including Porthmadog, Blaenau Amateurs, Barmouth and Dyffryn, Bala Town and Penrhyndeudraeth before he joined tier 2 Llangefni Town in 2019-20.
In a shortened season due to Covid, Cefni managed to escape relegation from the Cymru North with Tyler making 18 league appearances.
He signed for Cymru Premier club Caernarfon in 2020-21 as number two to Josh Tibbetts and played in seven first team matches, including a memorable play-off semi-final against Barry Town United which the Canaries won 3-1.
The 2021-22 campaign again saw Tyler as second-choice keeper at The Oval, this time to Jakub Ojrzynski, the Welshman making six appearances on this occasion.
This season has seen Tyler involved in six first-team matches for Caernarfon, including wins over Holyhead Hotspur (1-0 Nathaniel MG Cup), Cardiff Met University (5-1 Cymru Premier) and Flint Mountain (4-0 Welsh Cup).
So that made it 19 first-team outings across all competitions in two-and-a-half seasons with the Cofis.
Now a new adventure beckons at Conwy, where the key will be helping Boro avoid a relegation battle.
Rhys Kavanagh (Penybont to Flint Town United)
Flint have landed an attacking player of real pedigree in 24-year-old right-winger Kavanagh.
Rhys began this season at Penybont and marked his debut in some style, scoring twice in the South Wales side’s 2-0 win over Bala Town.
The good form continued and he was nominated for August’s Cymru Premier Player of the Month award.
Kavanagh played against Flint on August 27, scoring in a 2-1 win at Bridgend, with the other goal coming from player-manager Rhys Griffiths – his 272nd in the CPL.
However, Kavanagh’s appearance as a substitute in November’s 3-0 Welsh Cup win at Conwy Borough turned out to be his last outing for the club.
He has decided to move North due to personal circumstances and Silkmen manager Lee Fowler won the race to get him on board.
Kavanagh made his Flint debut in a 1-1 draw with Aberystwyth on January 6.
The player had resumed his playing career after initially retiring in July 2020 due to a reoccurring injury.
He joined Cymru Premier outfit Barry Town United which saw him feature for them during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.
In the early stages of his career, he was an academy product of Newport County, helping their Under-18s side to success.
His performances for Newport earned him a move to Bristol Rovers in which he signed a professional contract, playing for their development side.
During his time at the Memorial Ground, he would spend loan spells at Bath City, Gloucester City and Hungerford Town.
Shaun Tinsley (Mold Alexandra to Buckley Town)
Attacking player with bags of experience which will serve Buckley well at Cymru North level as he returns to a club where he has made quite an impact in the past.
The 28-year-old began the 2022-23 season at Mold, where he made 20 appearances, all as a substitute, and scored twice.
He came off the subs bench for Alex twice recently when they beat Bucks at home, but lost away.
Tinsley has played for Connah’s Quay Nomads, FC Nomads of Connah’s Quay, Buckley, where he especially stood out, and Saltney Town, who he was a star performer for in 2021/22, playing a big part in their long Welsh Cup run.
Sol Kempster (CPD Porthmadog to CPD Pwllheli)
Criccieth-based 23-year-old defender Sol has decided to leave Porthmadog and try a change of scene at nearby Pwllheli.
A young player of great promise, he initially came to prominence in a highly successful Porthmadog Reserve side. This earned him his promotion to the senior squad.
Sol made his first team debut in January 2020 as a late replacement and almost scored the winner in a 2-2 draw against a strong Flint Town United side in a Cymru North clash.
Although he remained, mainly, a reserves player, the season after, Sol was always knocking on the firsts’ door and netted his first senior goal in an 8-3 win at St Asaph in October 2021.
He helped Port in their successful quest to win promotion from the Ardal North West to the Cymru North this season, although did not feature in the Play-Off Final.
This season Sol has not been a first team regular, so the chance of more minutes at Pwllheli should do him the world of good.
Port manager Craig Papirnyk said: “Sol needs to play more for his own development and at Pwllheli he’ll be given that opportunity and I hope he enjoys the experience.”
Dywedodd rheolwr CPD Pwllheli Martyn Smith: “Rydym yn edrych ymlaen i groesawi Sol ir garfan. Dwi’n siŵr y bydd yn ychwanegiad gwych i’n carfan yn ail hanner y tymor.”
Pwllheli first team manager Martyn Smith said: “We are delighted to welcome Sol, I’m sure he will be a great addition to our squad going into a big second half of the season.”
Sol graduated in Sports Science at Bangor University in 2021 and is also a local legend for his unstinting work as a beach warden in Criccieth.
Zack Clarke (Chester to Flint Town United – loan)
Loan signings from Chester often work out well for North Wales football – and Flint will be hoping that is the case with young forward Clarke.
Zack has been recalled from his loan at Runcorn Linnets and will spend the rest of the 2022-23 campaign at the Essity Stadium.
This will please manager Lee Fowler, whose team have put in some good performances in the Cymru Premier this term, but lacked goals.
Fowler said of the new recruit: “An exciting addition to our forward players. Zack is a great young talent and is hungry to show what he can do.
“Standing at 6’2 he will cause defenders a lot of problems with his physicality and also his pace.”