Following his substitute appearance against Morecambe, Jacob Mendy will be vying for a starting role against Harrogate Town.
Last time out against Morecambe, Wrexham bounced back from defeat against Accrington Stanley in amazing fashion.
Thanks to a hattrick from Paul Mullin, the Reds were able to blow the Shrimps away despite it being a close-knit encounter.
It was a great performance from Phil Parkinson’s side and to win 6-0 against anybody is going to be a huge positive. To do it against a side in the hunt of the playoffs after losing in frustrating circumstances last time out, was great to see.
There was an element of annoyance to the game early on however as Anthony Forde was forced off due to injury. This will likely see him miss out against Harrogate and as a result, the Reds are in need of an incoming wingback.
Why Jacob Mendy should start against Harrogate
Against Morecambe, Jacob Mendy was the man to come on to replace the injured Irishman and he took his chance.
He had missed out against Accrington, potentially due to his late return from international duty with Gambia. Following his call-up to the African nation’s squad, Parkinson told the BBC: “Obviously we’ve got a lot of belief in Jacob and we think he’s a really good player.”
It is clear to see that the full-back is highly rated by his manager which is why he is often depended on in the squad.
Coming on at The Racecourse this weekend, he performed extremely well. His SofaScore rating came in at 7.3 despite playing just 63 minutes. With 59 touches and a top-class goal, he has earned his place in the next starting XI.
Obviously, his offensive play was great, given he scored. His heat map saw him occupy a space above the halfway line. He had another shot blocked in the game as he might have doubled his tally. He also made 50% of his long balls accurate which for a full-back is decent.
Defensively he was also in a good place despite not having too much to do. He made a clearance and won two duels throughout the game.
In Wrexham’s back five formation, Mendy is given much more licence to go forward which means his defensive output isn’t as integral. What is necessary is his attacking impetus and he definitely has plenty of that.
Against Harrogate, to replace Forde, Mendy is the man we think should take the mantle in the wing-back role.