Wrexham have had some famous faces come through the doors of their club over the years.
Some players such as Joe Allen joined Wrexham at a young age and played at the Racecourse Ground very early in their respective careers.
Others such as Ben Foster joined the Red Dragons in the twilight of their career having achieved great things during their peak years, Steven Fletcher and James McClean are examples in the current squad.
In the pressures of a promotion battle, it can often be overlooked the strong links that occur between football clubs. Wrexham are hoping to turn the tables on Stockport in their next encounter but will come up against a famous face that once graced the turf in North Wales.
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Matt Jansen played for Wrexham and is now at Stockport County
Matt Jansen arguably goes down as one of the unluckiest footballers in recent times following a motorbike accident that ruined a very promising career.
As per the BBC, Jansen was on the verge of a call up to England’s 2002 World Cup squad before just missing out on Sven Goran Eriksson’s side.
It led to Jansen going on holiday that summer to Rome rather than the World Cup and was involved in a motorcycle accident that left the Blackburn striker at the time fighting for his life.
He struggled to recover both physically and mentally and eventually joined Wrexham in 2009 where he made three appearances under manager Dean Saunders and scored against Northwich Victoria in a 2-1 win.
Jansen is now the player liaison officer at Stockport Country and will be hoping to help derail Wrexham’s League One promotion bid in their upcoming clash.
Jansen once turned down Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United
Whilst at Blackburn Rovers, Jansen was catching the eye of some of England’s top clubs having scored 47 goals in three seasons at the club.
As per the BBC, Jansen once turned down a move to Manchester United under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson and also attracted interest from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Wrexham took a punt on Jansen after the striker had endured a three year career break after leaving Bolton Wanderers in 2006.
A promising career hampered by a freak accident but Matt Jansen will be sure to have a warm welcome when he returns to North Wales, albeit with their promotion rivals Stockport County.