David Edwards: Former Wales international set to join Bala Town – reports
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D) – Austria (red shirts) vs. Wales (white shirts) 2-2 (1-2) – 2016-10-06 in Vienna, Ernst-Happel-Stadion – The photo shows David Edwards. Steindy (talk) 16:17, 10 November 2016 (UTC)
The former Wales international, Dave Edwards, is reportedly on the verge of signing for Bala Town.
According to The Sport Report, the 35-year-old is close to putting pen to paper on a deal with the Maes Tegid side, after retiring from professional football last month.
The midfielder, who represented his country on 43 occasions, was released by his boyhood club Shrewsbury Town in May, after returning to Salop for a second spell in 2019.
It is rumoured that Newtown were also interested in securing the services of Edwards, who had expressed a desire to play in the Cymru Premier.
In an interview two weeks ago, Edwards told the Shropshire Star: “I’m going to take some time and mull over what happened last week, to not make any rash decisions, that’s the key thing,
“I’m obviously disappointed that my Shrewsbury journey is over as a player, but it wasn’t a big surprise. I’d made my mind up earlier in the year what would come next if football wasn’t there.
“I’m fully ready for life after football but just have to think whether I’m fully ready to hang up the boots and not play again. I could say for definite I won’t be joining any club on a full-time basis, I want to start to transition into the next stage of my life. But I do think I’ll miss football, so if there’s options on a part-time basis I don’t want to shut those off.”
“I think I’ll know in a month’s time what’s next.”
Edwards, whose career also took in spells with Luton Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Reading, retired from international football in 2017, a year after featuring for Wales in their run to the semi-finals of the European Championship.
As he prepares to make the move into part-time football, Edwards will find a couple of familiar faces in Chris Venables and Steven Leslie, who he played with during his time in the youth setup and senior team at Shrewsbury.
The move to the Lakesiders will present Edwards with the opportunity to feature on the European stage once more, with Colin Caton’s side waiting to find out their opposition in the first qualifying round of the new UEFA Europa Conference League, with the draw taking place on 15 June.
The north Walian side are seeded for the draw, which gives them a greater chance of a favourable match-up as they look to progress to the next round.
