Shaquille Gwengwe: League Two Player of the Month Nominee

Hayden Mullins says Shaquille Gwengwe’s nomination for League Two’s player of the month is no fluke. It’s the result of a forward tearing through the steepest step of his career and making it look routine.

Gwengwe hit four goals in August for Newport County, only a few months after swapping the Southern League Premier South for the EFL. Last season he was a ruthless finisher for Poole Town, scoring 47 times. Now, at 25, he is proving that output was no lower-league mirage.

“Rightly deserved, with four goals in five games. He works incredibly hard,” said Mullins, who has watched the striker adjust at speed. The Newport boss has been struck not just by the numbers, but by the attitude behind them.

From non-league to game changer

Plenty of forwards struggle when they jump several levels in one summer. Gwengwe has attacked it. Mullins talks about a player who refuses to coast.

“He always wants to work on areas of his game which he feels might help him to develop,” Mullins 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.”

The EFL has taken notice. Gwengwe’s August form earned him a place on the League Two player of the month shortlist, alongside Barnet’s Charlie Larkin, Crewe striker Josh March and York City’s Harry Boyes, who ultimately took the award. Gwengwe did not win, but the nomination alone underlines how quickly his name has entered the conversation.

Inside the dressing room, the impact feels even bigger. Midfielder Ciaran Brennan has already tagged him with a label every attacker wants.

“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. A game changer, in Brennan’s eyes.

Wide threat now, central weapon later?

What makes the start more intriguing is that Gwengwe has not been operating in his favoured role. He prefers to play through the middle, yet all four of his August goals came from a wide position in Mullins’ system.

The manager sees that as a platform, not a limitation.

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

That is the next stage. First came the leap from non-league to League Two. Now comes the fine-tuning: understanding the different types of defenders, the tempo, the spaces that open and close quicker than anything he saw at Poole Town.

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

For now, Newport are happy to ride the form of a wide forward who finishes like a centre-forward. If this is Gwengwe still learning the division, the real question is what he looks like once he’s mastered it.