We’ve picked out ten pieces of information to help you get to know a little bit more about our newest recruit, Declan John.
1. John has experience at different levels of the game and during the 2013/14 season, he made 20 appearances in the Premier League for Cardiff City despite being just 18 years of age at the time.
2. Spending the latter stages of the 2015/16 season on loan at Chesterfield, he was a part of a Spireites squad that included current Wanderers Manager Ian Evatt. The two never played a match together however, with Evatt side-lined with an injury in the second half of the campaign.
3. Spending the 2017/18 season at Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, John made 31 appearances for the Glasgow club and managed to get on the scoresheet three times – to date the only three goals he has scored in his senior career.
4. Of those three goals he managed for the Gers, two of them came in one game – a 4-1 win away at Hamilton Academical in September 2017. Future Wanderer Ali Crawford lined up for the Accies against John on that evening.
5. Having been involved in the Wales international setup since making his debut for the Under-17s in 2011, he has also represented his nation at senior level on 7 occasions.
6. John spent time at Sunderland last season under the management of former Wanderers boss Phil Parkinson, but the Welshman never made an appearances for the Black Cats after joining on loan in January 2020.
7. Signing for Swansea City in August 2018, he made his debut for the club in an EFL Cup defeat to Crystal Palace at the Liberty Stadium. To date, he has made 18 appearances for the Sky Bet Championship side.
8. His connections with the Welsh national team setup means that there are already a couple of familiar faces in the Wanderers squad upon his arrival in Gethin Jones and Lloyd Isgrove who themselves have been involved alongside John with the Dragons.
9. Coming through the youth ranks at Cardiff City, John’s first loan spell away from the Welsh capital was in the second half of the 2014/15 season when he joined Barnsley in League One. He made 9 appearances for the South Yorkshire outfit.
10. John’s debut for the Welsh national team came in a 1-0 World Cup Qualifier victory against North Macedonia in Cardiff in October 2013. His next cap came in June the following year against Holland at the Amsterdam Arena. Coming on as a substitute on the hour mark in place of Hal Robson-Kanu, his team were eventually beaten 2-0 with goals coming from Arjen Robben and Jeremain Lens. The Dutch side also contained the likes of Robin van Persie, Nigel de Jong and Wesley Sneijder.