Three exciting new signings will strengthen Penmaenmawr Phoenix squad

Penmaenmawr Phoenix have announced three exciting new signings they hope can boost their fortunes in what is proving a difficult debut season in Tier 3 Ardal North West.

Striker Jay Sutton has arrived at Cae Sling from Llandudno Amateurs, while Sam Ashton and Leon Atkins have switched to Phoenix from Prestatyn Town.

Penmaenmawr are still without a win in Ardal North West and sit one off the bottom with a draw and six defeats so far.

Phoenix enjoyed an outstanding 2024-25, winning the Tier 4 North Wales Coast East Premier Division title, NWCFA Intermediate Cup and Cookson Cup.

However, the loss of key members of the treble-winning squad to other clubs such as Adam Hold, Kyle Cooper and Logan Williams over the summer, as well as other influential players retiring left huge gaps to be filled.

New faces have come in, such as Charlie Urquhart from Buckley Town, Shaheen Ahmed from Bow, Daniel Evans from Trearddur Bay and Will Ford from Llanrwst.

Two top keepers in Cameron Darling from Denbigh Town and Ryan Williams from Llanrwst, who have played at Tier 3 and above, have brought some real competition into the goalkeeping department.

Pen also recently recruited Leigh Craven from Prestatyn, a midfielder with bags of experience at third-tier who played for Phoenix at youth level and has come back to finish his career where it all started out.

Now the additions of Sutton, Atkins and Ashton bring further strength to Aaron Keating’s squad.

Manager Keating said: “After a summer of losing some key players to retirement and to other teams in Tier 3, it was always going to be a difficult start. Myself and the coaches have worked tirelessly to bring in the new signings which we think will help us to kick on and start seeing some positive results in the league.”

Ashton, 25, first emerged at Abergele, where he was a North Wales Coast East Division One title winner in 2021-22.

He was then a key man in the treble-winning Gele side of 2022-23 which lifted the Division One championship again, as well as landing the NWCFA Junior Cup and REM Jones Cup.

Ashton was snapped up by CPD Y Rhyl 1879 early in 2023-24 and went on to compile 44 appearances before deciding to switch to Prestatyn at the start of 2025.

He played in 21 first team games for the Seasiders before opting to move to Penmaenmawr.

Sutton, 26, has made plenty of waves over the past three seasons as a striker with Penrhyn Bay and Llandudno Amateurs.

In 2023-24, he notched 19 goals in 15 games for Bay in Tier 5, then moved to the Amateurs, where his strong and direct forward play has seen him find the net 19 times in 39 outings.

Atkins made his mark in 2021-22 as a member of the CPD Y Rhyl 1879 side which won the Tier 4 North Wales Coast East Premier Division title and Cookson Cup double at the first attempt.

He also represented the Lilywhites in 2022-23, making 39 appearances in total over the two seasons and scoring 15 goals before signing for Cymru North club Buckley Town.

Splitting his time between the firsts and reserves at Globe Way, Atkins joined Prestatyn Town in 2025. This season, he scored in the Seasiders’ 3-0 win over Llanrwst United.

Winger Atkins has also turned out for north west England clubs Vauxhall Motors and Litherland.