It was December of 2020 that Neve Renwick first arrived at Wakefield, having been spotted by Head Coach, Jordan Hartley, while playing for Barnsley Under-18’s. On turning 16, the talented striker signed on but was unable to play for the first five months due to the pandemic and further lockdown stipulations. Finally, in an end-of-season friendly round-robin Renwick made her first few appearances and very quickly became a starting fixture in the first team squad.
One ‘upward movement’ later and Neve began her adult footballing career in Tier 5 of the Women’s Football Pyramid, playing in the North East Regional Women’s Football League, Premier Division. So far in the 2021/22 season, Neve has scored 49 goals in just ten appearances for Barnsley Women U-18’s and 17 goals in ten appearances for Wakefield AFC Women.
Her form has alerted Barnsley Women, Doncaster Rovers Belles and Hull City to her and all three have subsequently approached Neve’s parents about her availability.
Craig Shepherd, Wakefield AFC Women spokesperson, said, “Neve has been a superb addition to the club and is really enjoying her time with us. It is a compliment that so many clubs are interested and is testament to her ability both in and out of possession. I’m certain that most teams, who have approached or shown interest, just see her impressive goal return but her work ethic out of possession is what has endeared Neve to the entire squad at such a young age. We know that at some point Neve will leave us to further her career but, for now, she is really happy and we’d appreciate that clubs let Neve see out the current season before attempting to lure her into a different environment. She’s a really talented player but is still developing with much to learn and that becomes increasingly difficult if you are constantly rejecting advances.”
Neve, 16, also commented on the approaches, “It’s really amazing that so many fantastic clubs have approached Wakefield about me and I appreciate their interest but I’m really happy where I am. I’d just like to concentrate on playing for Wakefield at this point.”
Wakefield AFC Women will play second-placed Redcar Town this weekend, aiming to avenge the 4-2 defeat in the North East earlier in the season. On home turf and in fine form, Wakefield will hope to add another three points to their tally. Please come along, if you can – Just Football MDC Stadium, Prince Drive, Fitzwilliam, Wakefield, WF9 5FD – 2pm kick off this Sunday.