Dai Sport

Danny Redmond only has to recall his career in Scotland to know The New Saints are capable of surprising Fiorentina in their apparent UEFA Conference League mismatch. TNS have become the first domestic Welsh side to reach the group stage of European competition and start the six-game Uefa Conference League phase at Fiorentina – beaten finalists in the last two seasons

Craig Bellamy may have tempted one Wales legend out of retirement, but he believes another is in the wings when he gets back to fitness. Joe Allen’s return to national duties at the age of 34 had been flagged up for some time after Swansea City revealed Wales manager Bellamy had been in touch.

Luke Williams admitted his Swansea City side had blown too many chances to win at Sheffield United, where they were beaten 1-0. The Swans dropped to 12th in the Championship table after seeing their three-game unbeaten run come to an end following some crucial errors.

Joe Allen has come out of international retirement and will be involved in Wales’ upcoming Nations League double-header with Iceland and Montenegro. Allen quit international football in February 2023 saying “time and injuries” had taken their toll, but the 34-year-old has been persuaded to rejoin the Dragons’ fold by new manager and former team-mate Craig Bellamy.

Newport County head coach Nelson Jardim believes his team is now starting to gel after a second impressive home win in four days with a 3-1 victory over Salford. “It was a great game, and I was chuffed for the fans,” said the Portuguese. “They were our 12th man and pushed us when we needed it.

How best to utilise the undoubted talents of Mason Grady is one of the big debates in Welsh rugby. At 6ft 5ins and 17st 9lbs, with bags of pace and power, the 22-year-old Cardiff star has all the raw ingredients.

Cardiff City’s interim manager Omer Riza admitted to an overriding sense of relief after ending the worst league start in the club’s 125-year history. Championship basement boys Cardiff won their first league game of the season at the eighth attempt with a 1-0 win over Millwall at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Gloucester winger Christian Wade feels “exceptional” Louis Rees-Zammit needs to keep improving his American football fluency if the former Wales rugby union player wants to succeed in the NFL. Wade left rugby in 2018 to pursue an NFL career, making his debut with Buffalo Bills the following year and even scoring a touchdown in that pre-season game, but spent the rest of his tenure on the practice squad.

Former world number one judoka Natalie Powell has insisted it was the right time to bring down the curtain on her glittering career. The Welsh star reached the top of the sport and became Great Britain’s first female to lead the rankings, but at 33 she has opted to retire.

Wales will be without injured midfielder Eathan Ampadu for their autumn Nations League matches, but his Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has insisted his knee problem was feared much worse. Ampadu is set to be sidelined for the rest of the year with knee ligament damage.