Max Cleworth has grown into one of Wrexham’s best academy graduates in a while. Now, the Red Dragons are about to repeat his success trick with 19 year old attacking midfielder Harry Ashfield.
For academy stars, representing their club’s senior team remains the biggest dream for them. At Wrexham, the senior squad has been trimmed and moulded countless times in the span of five years.
There are a good chunk of players who have tasted one promotion with Wrexham, a handful of them have secured back-to-back division jumps and a rare few have stayed through all three promotions. Among them, there is arguably only one homegrown name Max Cleworth.
At the young age of 23, the centre-back has asserted his presence as the second defensive general at the back behind only current captain Dominic Hyam. However, his success in a Reds shirt boils down to one major decision.
Max Cleworth’s successful Wrexham loan
A loan transfer. Frankly saying, most Wrexham fans may make puzzled faces at first because almost every Reds faithful has always seen Cleworth donning the Dragons badge.
Despite it, the now 23 year old defender spent a full season away on loan to fellow Welsh outfit Caernarfon Town during his teenage years. The season was 2020/21 where Cleworth starred at the heart of Caernarfon’s defence for a good three months.
Regular game time kept coming under his belt, which was the main motive behind sending Cleworth. Apart from that, the English prodigy also gained a decent playoffs exposure and developed a knack for adding goals to his game.
Wrexham academy graduate Harry Ashfield to Bristol Rovers transfer links
Same way, Wrexham will never say no to developing another homegrown talent via the loan route. Perhaps, the right timing has also arrived with RobRyanRed pointing out January links for Wrexham academy graduate Harry Ashfield to Bristol Rovers loan transfer.
In their own words, RobRyanRed suggested: “Exc: Understand Bristol Rovers are pushing hard to get Harry Ashfield on loan this month. Around a handful of L1/L2 teams have expressed interest but Rovers said to be front of the queue as it stands.”
A quick glance at Bristol Rovers tells the Gas are fighting tooth and nail to avoid the drop to non-league football. Although, they have a healthy cushion over the teams lying in relegation zone it’s certain that Bristol Rovers need to step up in the coming five months to prevent their season from turning ugly.
What next for Bristol Rovers and Harry Ashfield?
Joining a team crippled with relegation fears is never an easy thought. Harry Ashfield will also be knowing this, as getting demoted from the EFL pyramid can do more harm to his talent’s reputation than the goods that come with playing regularly.
On the other hand, Ashfield can soon turn into an in-demand playmaking sensation if his attacking contributions keep Rovers ship from sinking. When he returns back, the Welshman will be 20 and then a fruitful loan at Rovers will help him bag better playing opportunities in League One and the Championship.
Those chances will go a long way into shaping Ashfield’s career for the better. The Bristol Rovers move, therefore, is the key for the Wrexham wonderkid to tap into his full potential.
Nothing is much advanced on this front, but the upcoming weeks can see rapid progress in any loan deal. Hopefully, the Harry Ashfield to Bristol Rovers loan transfer materializes and he goes hitting the ground running there.
Towards the end of January, the Gas are set to host Wrexham’s bitter rivals Newport County. If Ashfield drops a game winner there, it would be so satisfying to watch for Red Dragons fans.
