Wrexham have become an incredible platform for players, not just to show off their ability but also to share their personalities with the world.
Saying that sentence eve five years ago would have provoked a few raised eyebrows and dismissive frowns.
Yet here we are, Wrexham are co-owned by two Hollywood superstars in Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
That has brought more eyes on Wrexham than ever before and especially through the wildly successful documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
We have learned more about the Wrexham squad than we could probably care to know, but the show has provided a window into the lives of these people – not just players.
With the third season upon us very soon, we may well see how one Wrexham player has been given the chance to live out his dream.
Wrexham move allows one player to fulfil his dream
Jacob Mendy arrived at Wrexham from Boreham Wood in 2022 having been on an incredible journey.
Born in The Gambia, Mendy moved to Spain at the age of six and then to England.
Mendy was on the books at Atletico Madrid, featuring in their C team before his switch to England, where he joined Redhill – featuring in the ninth tier.
The left wing back took on jobs such as being a cleaner, waste collector and construction worker whilst chasing his dream in non-league football.
Mendy moved on to Carshalton Athletic, Wealdstone and Boreham Wood before heading to Wrexham in 2022.
Wrexham have given Mendy a huge platform and in the summer of 2023, Mendy landed his first caps for Gambia.
That was merely a dream for Mendy in the early stages of his career but it has now happened – and he even played at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Mendy has now spoken to Men in Blazers and admitted that his agent saw the potential for him to become a Gambia international even in his Wealdstone days.
Mendy didn’t believe in that idea at the time but kept trying to improve and gradually work his way up – but it all changed upon joining Wrexham.
Gambia boss Tom Saintfiet handed Mendy a call-up even earlier than he was expecting, and Mendy admitted that he doesn’t think this would have happened without the move to Wrexham.
“I’ve got to say, how this journey starts is… when I was at Wealdstone, my agent – the agent I’ve got now – contacted me, we met for the first time and he said to me that he’d seen me play and he’s got a lot of trust in me, and he thinks in two or three years, I can make it into the national team, into the Gambia national team,” said Mendy. “And what I did, I laughed. He believed in me, he believed in that, I didn’t.”
“Slowly, slowly, going through the steps, I could see that closer and he just kept telling me and kept telling me. After the season I had at Wrexham, I remember one day he called me and he said ‘I’ve just had a chat with the national team manager and he said that he’s really looking at you and he’s interested’ – wow. At that point I was like ‘wow’, this is something I definitely wasn’t expecting, I wanted to go step by step so it was probably something that came before I even expected it.”
“During that season, we kept in contact with the manager, he’d send me a message after games and he ended up calling me in the summer. I truly believe that, if I wasn’t at Wrexham, I probably wouldn’t have got that call yet,” he added.
Wrexham need Jacob Mendy back
Mendy is currently out of action with a hamstring problem and it’s unclear just when we will see him in action again.
Wrexham could do with Mendy to make a speedy recovery and for him to feature in the promotion run-in.
Mendy’s return would pave the way for James McClean to move from left wing back to midfield and potentially give Andy Cannon or Elliot Lee a rest.
Mendy provides a real thrust up the left flank and his return would just give Phil Parkinson some different options in the big games to come.
Hopefully, Mendy will celebrate another promotion this season and his incredible journey could take another step forward in the coming weeks.