A TYWYN-raised footballer, who is back in the Wales international fold for the first time in five years, has shared memories of the time he started out in senior football with Aberystwyth.

Tom Bradhsaw came off the bench in the second half for the opening Group D UEFA European Championship Qualifier, a fantastic 1-1 draw against Croatia in Split on Saturday and was an unused substitute when Rob Page’s men beat Latvia 1-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday.

The Shrewsbury-born attacker moved with his family to Tywyn when he was three.

He represented Tywyn at various age levels, trained with Aberystwyth Academy and represented Wales at Under 19 and Under 21 level.

The 30-year-old, who won the English Football League Championship Player of the Month for February with Millwall, began his senior career at JD Cymru Premier outfit Aberystwyth Town.

He become the first player to progress from the Aberystwyth Town Academy to win a senior cap for Wales, after he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 friendly defeat in Ukraine, with Andriy Yarmolenko netting the winner for the hosts.

He has also enjoyed spells at Shrewsbury Town, Walsall and Barnsley.

He told the JD Cymru Premier website about his time in Aberystwyth: “That really does feel like a lifetime ago. It’s funny because Sgorio tagged me in an Instagram post and the amount of messages I got saying, ‘I don’t even recognise you!’ I think I was 15 or 16.

“They were great days. They were the days before football added pressure to it because I was in sixth form doing my school work and obviously training on a Tuesday, playing on a Saturday, playing men’s football.

“They were great days, a great set of lads around me at the time and, like I say, I was lucky to kick on from there to sign for Shrewsbury.’’