Shaquille Gwengwe: A League Two Rising Star

Hayden Mullins says Shaquille Gwengwe’s League Two player of the month nomination is no fairytale. It’s the payoff for a brutal learning curve he’s attacked head-on.

The Newport County forward arrived from Poole Town in the Southern League Premier South with a ridiculous record – 47 goals last season – but a big question mark over whether he could handle the jump to the EFL. August gave a sharp answer: four goals in five league games.

“Rightly deserved, with four goals in five games. He works incredibly hard,” said Mullins, who has quickly built his attack around the 25-year-old’s relentlessness as much as his finishing.

This is not a striker coasting on talent. Mullins painted the picture of a player who refuses to stand still.

“He always wants to work on areas of his game which he feels might help him to develop,” the County boss explained. “He’s not come into the group and sat back; he’s come in, and he really wants to push.

“He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s really open and wants to improve. His product is the by-product of all his hard work.”

That “product” has already put him in serious company. Gwengwe’s August form earned him a nomination alongside Barnet’s Charlie Larkin, Crewe striker Josh March and York City’s Harry Boyes, who ultimately took the award.

Even so, Gwengwe’s early impact stands out because of how he’s doing it. He prefers to operate through the middle, but all four of his goals have come from a wide role in Mullins’ system. It hasn’t bothered him. He’s simply found a way to hurt teams from there instead.

For Mullins, that flexibility is gold dust.

“The good thing is he is open-minded. Wherever he can get into the team, he’ll play and try and do a job,” he said. “He could be equally effective through the middle, but maybe we have to change a few things to help that.

“He’s jumped a lot of levels very quickly and with every game he’s gaining more experience. Once he figures out the different challenges at this level, there’s no reason why he couldn’t play as the nine.”

Inside the dressing room, the respect is already there. Midfielder Ciaran Brennan has seen enough to know that Gwengwe changes games simply by being on the pitch.

“Shaq definitely knows where the goal is, so when he’s on the pitch there’s always half a chance that he might sniff something out,” Brennan said.

From non-league marksman to EFL game changer in a matter of months. If this is Gwengwe still learning the level, what happens when he truly masters it?