New faces help ensure Wrexham AFC Women are going places!

While football is very much a squad game, there can be no doubt that Wrexham AFC Women’s new signings this season have made a huge impact on the team’s flying start to the 2025-26 campaign.

When former West Bromwich Albion boss Jenny Sugarman was appointed as the North Wales side’s new head coach in July, she took her time in assessing what players she had and which potential new faces could turn the Red Dragons into title contenders.

Having also been academy coach at Leicester City and assistant-manager at Aston Villa, Sugarman had cast her eyes over a wide range of talent in the women’s game.

And the quality of players she chose to bring to Wrexham have helped turn the current squad into something which looks really special.

Here are six of the very best to make their mark for a team currently second in the Adran Premier, only trailing champions Cardiff City on goal difference.

JODIE BARTLE
Born 19-11-1991

The skipper is 34 today! She delivered herself and her team-mates an early present with a goal in Sunday’s record 6-1 away thrashing of Pontypridd United.
With her infectious personality, enthusiasm and leadership skills, Jodie has very quickly become a huge favourite with the Wrexham supporters.
As well as being a top-class defender, she is also proving effective in the opposition box with three goals in 10 league and cup appearances so far,
Jodie began her football career working her way up the leagues with Peterborough Northern Star and Loughborough Foxes before joining Women’s Championship club Coventry United in 2019-20.
She moved on to Celtic, where she experienced UEFA Women’s Champions League football and lifted both the Scottish Women’s Football League Cup and Women’s Scottish Cup between 2020-22.
Jodie re-signed for Coventry United in the summer of 2022, captaining the side prior to a switch to Newcastle United of the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division.in July 2023.
Spent two seasons on Tyneside, where injuries set her back, before being released on the expiry of her contract and put pen to paper for Wrexham in the summer.
Huge happy birthday Jodie!

KATIE BARKER
Born 23-12-2000

What an impact this dynamic goal-getter has made, scoring 11 times in 10 matches for Wrexham so far, including finding the net for the last seven games in a row.
Like Bartle, she joined from Newcastle United, where she emerged as a record-breaking goal bagger.
Katie spent two years at Tyne Metropolitan College studying Sport and Exercise Science and was a star player for the football team,.winning three league titles, four cups and represented England Colleges and England Under-18s.
She went on to study a sport degree at Northumbria University before becoming a player for Newcastle United Women’s team in 2021.
Katie went on to be Newcastle’s record goalscorer, with 67 goals, which helped them to two consecutive promotions, from Tier 4 to WSL 2, and her strike against Alnwick Town in May 2022 made her the first woman to score at St James’ Park.
She turned full-time professional in June 2023, and left Newcastle with 120 appearances to her name.

MARIAM MAHMOOD
Born 11-5-2004

This lightning fast attacking player has already been hailed as one of the Adran Premier’s best this season.
She has pocketed seven goals in 10 appearances for the Red Dragons – including a couple of truly spectacular strikes. Mahmood marked her Welsh Cup debut with a hat-trick against Llandudno this month.
Wrexham AFC Women’s first Muslim player, West Midlander Mariam plays for the Pakistan women’s national football team.
She came through the West Bromwich Albion youth programme and was promoted to the senior squad in 2021, working under current Wrexham head coach Jenny Sugarman.
Mariam finished 2022/23 as West Brom’s top scorer and continued her fine form the following season, netting seven goals in all competitions.
Mahmood made over 80 WBA first-team appearances before signing for Wrexham in summer 2025.
In June 2025, Mahmood received her first callup to the Pakistan women’s national squad. She represented Pakistan in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, where she scored her first international goals, securing a 2-1 victory against Kyrgyzstan.

HANNAH SNAPE
Born 2-9-2002

Left-midfielder, aged 22, Hannah has made a big impression for Wrexham thus far, scoring twice in her 10 appearances and providing four assists.
She previously played for Loughborough Lightning, having also featured for Solihull Moors.
Hannah represented England Schools as a youngster, before making her senior debut for Chester, aged just 16, in December 2019.
Since joining Wrexham, she has brought a real enthusiasm and energy to the group on and off the pitch and her physical abilities along with her set-piece deliveries help provide added threat to the team.

JOSIE SMITH
Born 30-4-2002

Has shown herself to be a truly versatile performer in her nine outings in a Wrexham shirt so far.
Smith, 23, is a former Cymru youth international who earned caps at both U17 and U19 level, having come through the ranks at Everton’s academy.
An adaptable player who is comfortable in defence or midfield, she joined Wolves and later became a FAWNL Division One Midlands title-winner with the Old Gold.
Her experience as a youth international and with Wolves has been showing consistently in her competitiveness and technical quality and her versatility in both defence and midfield is a huge asset.

FAYE KNOX
Born 2-3-2005

Joined in October and after a couple of brief substitute appearances, Faye has truly hit the ground running.
Scored her first goal for the club as a sub in a 2-0 win over The New Saints – a lovely crisp right-footed finish which proved too good for the goalkeeper.
The former Rhyl High School pupil has since followed up with goals versus Llandudno Ladies in the Welsh Cup, then another in Sunday’s 6-1 away tanning of Pontypridd.
The term ‘goalscoring midfielder’ is proving very apt in this 20-year-old’s case.
Former Cymru U19 international Faye played junior football for Prestatyn Athletic before coming through the ranks at both Manchester City and Liverpool prior to joining then WSL2 side Blackburn Rovers.
After spending 2022-23 with Rovers, she joined Bolton Wanderers in September 2024 and was named as their Player of the Season for 2024/25.
That season saw Wanderers crowned North West Regional Division One North champions 2024-25 to earn promotion to the Premier Division.
During her time at youth level for Cymru, she also played alongside Wrexham AFC Women midfielder Lili Jones in 2022. Faye won 11 youth caps across the age groups.

Other newcomers such as Neve Adams – who has made a few brief sub appearances – and Evie Sadler could be players to watch in the coming months,