When a Wales international moves to the Adran Premier it’s always exciting, but when it’s Maria Francis-Jones’ move to TNS felt a little different.
It’s still hard to believe the forward is only 21 years old given where she’s been and what she’s accomplished in such a short space of time.
After starting out at Cardiff City Ladies (now Gwalia United), Francis-Jones secured a move to powerhouses Man City. Spending time in their age group sides, the goal scorer went on loan to the likes of Sheffield United, before ending up at Burnley.
Life at Man City
Getting to train at the Etihad Campus with some top-quality players and coaches has improved Francis-Jones no end.
She began by saying: “I gained a lot of experience at Manchester City and by going on loan over the last few seasons, especially because I moved away from home so early in my career.
“I spent a lot of time in the development team at City and then went to Sheffield United on loan before getting first-team experience at Burnley.
“I’ve grown a lot as a player and a person in my time away from Wales.”
But the glitz and glamour of Manchester wasn’t enough for Francis-Jones who, at the end of last season, yearned for a return to her homeland.
“I wanted to move back to Wales,” she admitted.
Outside of football, I wanted to move back home, because that’s where I’m happiest. Any player will tell you they play their best football when everything around them is good and you’re happy in yourself.
“The league is growing quickly too, and it’s a lot bigger compared to when I left Wales. There are some great players in the league and the football is really competitive, and that’s what I wanted was to compete every week at a high level.”
How TNS sold Francis-Jones the dream
It’s hard to believe Francis-Jones wasn’t inundated with offers from across the league, but the club that earned her signature were TNS.
There’s no doubt the Saints are a team who have extremely high aspirations, and the striker said it was the direction the club was going, along with the vision of new manager Shauna Duffy, that was the tipping point.
“TNS have obviously just turned semi-pro, and through speaking to Shauna, I knew the direction the club wanted to go, and it matched my ambitions.
The men’s team are doing so well at the moment too, and it’s little things like that which made my decision easy in the end.
“Shauna has an ethos of working hard, and to go with that, she’s fed us a lot of information during preseason about styles of play, opposition and things like that.
“There’s been a lot of change at the club this summer with a new manager and a lot of players coming in and out, but she’s really pushing us forward to be a better team.”
TNS have certainly been pushing to try and become a power in the women’s game here in Wales, and with the recruitment going on at the club, it’s clear that this season is an important one.
Francis-Jones knows what the minimum requirement is this year but says the team can certainly push on.
“Top four for us is the minimum expectation this season. Every team aims for that spot in the top four, but everyone wants to win all the time.
“In the long term, who knows what’s possible, but hopefully, we will be in that top four. If we finish first, then fantastic, but we want to take each game as it comes.”
When you play for Manchester City and Wales, you have high expectations of yourself, and Francis-Jones is no different.
While not setting a number, the striker is eager to show the league exactly what she’s capable of.
“Personally, I want to perform well from week to week. I want to push the team and hopefully be the player that can win games and get goals and assists.
“I haven’t put a number on that yet, but I want to be on it from the first game and build from there. However, I certainly have high expectations of myself this season.”
If Francis-Jones is to reach her own lofty targets this season, then could a Wales recall be on the cards?
The Citizen turned Saint last appeared for Wales in 2020 against Estonia, and while she would love to don the red shirt again, she wants to concentrate on doing well at club level.
“Everyone wants to play for Wales, but for me right now, I want to focus on my club football and just do the best I can for TNS.
“If international football comes while I’m doing that, then happy days, but we just have to see what happens on that front.”
And her first taste of competitive football with TNS will be a tricky trip down south to face Barry Town.
Francis-Jones has been told a lot about what to expect from the Linnets, but overall, is looking forward to getting started in the Adran Premier.
“I’ve heard from teammates that Barry are quite a hard team to play against, so it’s going to be a good test and a good opener for us to get our competitive streak up.
“We’ve worked hard in all of our preseason games, and now we want to put everything we’ve learned into practice.”
The signing of Francis-Jones isn’t just an exciting one for TNS, but for the league as a whole.
If she does well, who knows how many more we will see in the Adran Premier!
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