Ten more North Wales signings well worth reading about
Jacob Barratt (Gresford Athletic to Mold Alexandra)
Flying forward Jacob Barratt has joined Mold Alexandra from Gresford Athletic.
Barratt, 21, signed for Gresford at the start of this season and featured in 21 matches for the Cymru North club, scoring 5 goals.
Before landing at Clappers Lane, Barratt was a big hit for Denbigh Town in tier 3 Ardal North West, finding the net 13 times in 29 games during 2021-22, having first moved to Central Park in 2019/20 when the club was in the former Welsh Alliance.
The young forward first played for The New Saints in their academy in 2014, before signing for Colwyn Bay in 2016.
A season at the Bay led to a move to Connah’s Quay Nomads in the 2017/18 season, where he progressed through the academy, making his way into a number of Cymru Premier matchday squads for the club.
Barratt then signed for Denbigh Town in 2019, moving into men’s football and influencing games at a young age with goals and assists, before committing to Gresford and now continues his career at Cymru North Mold.
Kian Hughes (Connah’s Quay Nomads to Porthmadog)
Seventeen-year-old prospect who made his Porthmadog debut as a second half substitute in the match against Mold Alex at the Traeth on January 14.
Hailing from Bangor, Kian joins from Connah’s Quay Nomads, where he has been a regular part of their successful unbeaten U-19s Development Squad. Kian is on a scholarship programme with the Nomads, where he also studies for A levels at Deeside College.
The young midfielder is in the Wales Schools U18s squad and hopes to gain a place for the trip to Rome next month.
One to watch.
Dylan Jones (Llandyrnog United to Ruthin Town)
Goalkeeper Jones returns to Cymru North club Ruthin after spells with Llandyrnog United and Corwen in recent seasons.
The 30-year-old left Ruthin at the start of 2018-19 to join Corwen, spending two seasons with the Welsh National League club.
In July 2021, Jones switched to Llandyrnog of the tier 4 North Wales Coast East Premier Division.
He became Dyrny captain and made 39 first team appearances, his last in a 4-1 home loss to Kinmel Bay on January 7, 2023.
Jones will now challenge Dan Goldston for the No 1 jersey at the Memorial Fields.
Dylan said: “It’s great to be back at the club, I’m looking forward to helping the team any way I can. There’s a great bunch of lads here and I can’t wait to get going.
“Dan is a top quality keeper and I’m looking forward to working with him and competing for the number 1 shirt.”
Andy Brown (Flint Mountain to Ruthin Town)
Experienced striker Brown rises from tier 3 to the second-tier Cymru North.
Brown signed for Flint Mountain in summer 2022 and netted on his debut in a Welsh Cup win against Connah’s Quay Town.
However, appearances this season for the Ardal North West club have generally been limited. His last outing was in a 2-1 home loss to Llangefni Town in December.
Brown represented both Cefn Druids and Flint Town United in the Cymru Premier, the latter club also in the Cymru North.
Perhaps his finest moment in a Flint Town United shirt was scoring in a 2-0 Welsh Cup giant-killing over Bala Town in 2019-20.
Ruthin’s new man has also played for Runcorn Town.
Lily Whitefoot (The New Saints to Wrexham)
Welsh Colleges forward Lily has signed for Wrexham from Adran Premier side TNS.
The 17-year-old, who has been a regular off the bench for Saints this season – including against Wrexham in the Red Dragons’ FAW Women’s Cup win – will initially join the Under-19s set-up.
Whitefoot previously played at Wrexham in the Girls Performance Centre, before earning a move to play top-flight football for the Shropshire-based team.
She was recently selected for the Welsh Colleges squad to compete in a tournament in Rome coming up soon.
Shaun Jenkins (to Llangefni Town)
Well-travelled midfielder/winger who has been a loyal servant to Bodedern Athletic for the past few seasons.
However, with the village club having disbanded in December, Shaun has decided on a move to Ardal North West side Llangefni.
Shaun, 27, has played for a few Anglesey clubs in his career, including Llannerchymedd, Valley and Trearddur Bay before joining Bodedern.
He was part of the Athletic squad which won the tier 4 North Wales Coast West Premier title last season and helped the club reach the FAW Trophy semi-finals in 2018/19.
Shaun was also in the Trearddur Bay side which lifted the Welsh Alliance League Division One championship in 2015-16, scoring seven goals over the season. So he has won league titles at tier 3 and 4 levels.
Josh Roberts (Glantraeth to Llangefni Town)
A nice step up in standard for goalkeeper Josh, who joins third-tier Llangefni Town from fellow Anglesey club Glantraeth.
The 25-year-old began his career with Llangefni Juniors and went on to represent Gaerwen and Bodorgan before switching to Glan this season.
His debut was a really good one, as he kept a clear sheet in Glantraeth’s 1-0 Welsh Cup triumph over fancied Bethesda Athletic.
Josh made 12 appearances for Glan prior to joining Cefni.
Last season he featured in 31 games for Bodorgan in North Wales Coast West Division One.
Sam Gregson (to CPD Llangoed)
Great signing for Llangoed of a young player who was third top goalscorer in Bodedern Athletic’s tier 4 title winners of 2021-22.
Sam Gregson hit 11 league goals as Boded swept to the North Wales Coast West Premier Division championship, with only the mighty Asa Thomas (40 league goals) and Marc Evans (38) ahead of him. Evans hit 68 in all competitions and Thomas 58.
Aged 19, Sam began his senior football career with Llangoed before signing for Bodedern in 2021.
He is currently in the USA playing for Onondaga University in New York State, but has also signed on for Llangoed.
A centre midfielder and a tireless runner from box to box, it is believed he was the youngest player in Bodedern’s league-winning team.
Alex Cooper (to Menai Bridge Tigers)
His name sounds so much like a famous glam rock star – but not quite.
Menai Bridge Tigers are delighted to announce the signing of Alex Cooper.
Alex is a left-back who can also play on the wing or in central midfield. He faced Tigers twice last season for Gwalchmai, with whom he made 19 appearances, scoring 5 goals.
Alex trained with Tigers during the summer, but was unable to commit due to his partner giving birth at the beginning of the season.
Menai manager Aaron Rowlands said: “Alex is a very technical player and I’m delighted to have secured his signature for the new year with some big matches coming up. He’s a great addition to our squad and I look forward to seeing the qualities he can bring.”
Louis Davies (Flint Mountain to Saltney Town)
Highly-rated young talent, 18, has switched tier 3 clubs, leaving Mountain for Saltney Town.
A Saltney spokesman said: “Louis has always been an exciting talent through his development. Previously with Flint Town United Academy and joining from Flint Mountain, Louis is a great addition to the team.”
Louis has already featured in two Saltney first team matches as a substitute and played an under-19 game.
After playing a few times for Flint Town Academy in 2019-20, Louis joined Flint Mountain at the start of 2021-22 and played in 31 league and cup matches last season, helping the club win promotion to tier three.
The three goals he scored included one against Bangor 1876 in the FAW Amateur Trophy in a 5-2 defeat.
Central-midfielder Louis had featured in nine first-team games for the Mountain this season before the switch to the Bordermen.