Mo Faal: How did Wrexham’s most expensive signing perform on his debut for the club?

On a night when Phil Parkinson fielded his reserve team, Wrexham’s wealth of playing potential was on full display for all to see.

Summer signings Dan Scarr, Seb Revan, Lewis Brunt and Callum Burton faced Salford City in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. They all arrive with impressive pedigrees – not least five EFL promotions – and will be looking to play a big part in the League One campaign, despite spending the first few weeks on the bench.

James Jones and Will Boyle, who made almost 50 League Two appearances between them last season, also started the League One leaders’ opening Group B match, while strikers Paul Mullin and Mo Faal, Wrexham’s goalscoring talent and club record £500,000 ($650,000) earner respectively, were also on hand to start.

With such talent on show it’s no wonder the attendance for the 2-1 home win was a healthy 6,640 – far higher than the 693 and 851 spectators who watched the previous games in this group at Salford and Port Vale respectively.

Mullin, making his first start since undergoing back surgery in the summer, stole the show with a stunning curling finish. But there was still plenty of interest in strike partner Faal, the 21-year-old making his debut after joining from West Bromwich Albion on deadline day. So how did the Gambian-born newcomer fare?

Welshpool is back.

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— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) September 10, 2024

Perhaps it’s best to start with some background information…

Faal’s senior breakthrough came last season when he spent time on loan at Doncaster Rovers and Walsall in League Two. He scored 13 league goals, plus a couple more in the FA Cup and EFL Trophy.

The analysis of those league goals below shows just how deadly he can be from close range, with all 13 of his strikes coming from inside the penalty area. Many of these strikes were first-time strikes on target, suggesting he is not lacking in confidence when an opportunity comes his way.

Five of those were headers, including his first goal in the EFL in Doncaster’s 2-1 defeat at Wrexham last September, when he coolly headed the ball between Boyle and Ollie Palmer on the line.

With an expected goals (xG) of 14.8, his final tally was slightly below par. But Faal’s willingness to try his luck with both feet is encouraging, as is the aerial threat he poses at 6ft 5in (195cm).

His League Two goals are made all the more impressive by the fact that neither Doncaster nor Walsall were flying during his stay. Eventual play-off qualifiers Rovers, for example, were 19th when Faal made his 25th and final appearance for them on 6 January.

Only Joe Ironside, a striker who Wrexham had enquired about in the summer of 2023, had scored more for Rovers at that stage of the season than Faal’s seven league goals.

At Walsall he played more often from the bench (11) than as a starter (9), but he still produced some impressive goals, most notably against Harrogate Town when, after receiving a pinpoint pass from 35 yards, he finished off a fine breakaway by curling the ball just inside the penalty area.

⚽️ New loanee Mo Faal has already scored 9⃣ goals in all competitions this season

🤞 Fingers crossed for more in a #Saddlers shirt! photo.twitter.com/VuzJ4j3wCc

— Walsall FC Official (@WFCOfficial) January 15, 2024

Did anything else stand out during that first introduction to EFL?

Doncaster manager Grant McCann was less than pleased when Faal cut his stay short to return to The Hawthorns in mid-January, before being loaned out to Walsall. Before that, however, he was pleased with the young player on loan, even suggesting to BBC Radio Sheffield in mid-October that he would be “unplayable” within two to three years.

A lot of work has gone into Faal’s development at Rovers, including McCann sitting down with him to watch video footage of Peterborough United striker Jonson Clarke-Harris. He also encouraged the loanee to spend more time between the sticks, rather than pushing himself too far.

Those words clearly hit home, as evidenced by the fact that so many of his goals came from central areas. Walsall manager Mat Sadler was also impressed, telling the Express and Star in April how Faal reminded him of Luton Town striker Elijah Adebayo during his own time at the West Midlands club.

🗣️ “I’ve had a smile on my face since I got here. I’m excited and really pumped to be here – I can’t wait to get started.”

Mo Faal on signing for Wrexham AFC 🙌

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— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) August 30, 2024

How did Faal perform on his debut for Wrexham?

On a night when the home side sometimes looked uncoordinated, especially in the middle of the pitch where four wingbacks occupied the starting five positions, it was not easy to gauge each player’s true potential.

But Faal was a handful in the air, winning a series of headers despite Salford’s best attempts to disrupt the forward with a sly push here and a pull there. He also protected the ball well when playing it to his feet, a trait integral to how Wrexham play as it allows the midfield to push forward en masse.

He is also clearly a work in progress. At times the debutant drifted too far, meaning he and Mullin were too far apart to work effectively together when Wrexham had a chance to break through.

There was one wild shot on target that went high and wide, and midway through the first half he was unnecessarily shown a yellow card for chopping Haji Mnoga to the ground.

Still, Parkinson was pleased with Faal’s effort before he was substituted with 12 minutes to go. “He worked well for the team,” said the Wrexham manager, whose team beat Salford thanks to a late goal from Boyle.

“Maybe he tried a few times a bit too hard, like that shot from 35 yards. But that’s to be expected because he’s a young boy who wants to show everyone how good he is.

“The more he trains with us, the better he gets. He’s a good kid, hungry to improve, and he fits in very well with the group.”

(Top photo: Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images)