12 gamers your membership may signal who’re enjoying for the PFA crew this week

Footballers are facing a race against time to find a new club before the start of the season – and to stay fit before football kicks off again, many are training with the PFA squad.

Since its launch in the 2022/23 season, the PFA pre-season camp has helped free agents land new deals with clubs as out-of-contract members are given a residential training base during the off-season, with daily on-pitch training sessions, strength and conditioning and friendlies.

This year, the camp will last 12 weeks, with the team for the sixth week of the camp being announced on Friday – including Premier League cult hero Connor Wickham.

The former Sunderland star isn’t the only Premier League player to make use of the camp over the years, with ex-Premier League and international players such as John Swift, Carl Jenkinson, Dwight Gayle and Paul Dummett all utilising the facilities in recent years.

Fabio Borini was one such player who used the camp last summer, eventually signing with Salford City: “It gives players the opportunity to stay fit the best way possible, with the facilities they provided.

“It is also a great opportunity to be seen, which is why Alex [Salford Assistant Manager] and other clubs texted me to say they were interested. I suppose it was the same for other players. If you train at home in your own back garden, no one is going to see you.”

PFA CEO Maheta Molango said ahead of the camp this year: “We never want players to be with us for too long over the summer, we all wish them a quick transition into new clubs, but we’re proud that so many choose to spend that crucial preparation period with us.

“It’s a credit to the genuinely high-performance environment we’ve created and the club-like atmosphere our team has built around the programme.

“It was powerful to see the response to the camp last season in particular. Managers, coaches and supporters really connected with the stories of the players involved, and it made a genuine difference.

“So many of our members went on to have fantastic seasons off the back of their time with us, and for us to have played even a small role in that is incredible.

“Players told us that they would benefit from a longer programme this year, allowing them to continue training as the season gets underway, and I’m delighted we’ve been able to make that happen.

“We’re also looking forward to welcoming WSL and WSL2 players to PFA pre-season for the first time and, as ever, we extend a warm welcome to clubs, scouts and managers to use the camp to engage with players ready for their next challenge.”