A BIOGRAPHY of a Flintshire footballer, who started his career at Wrexham FC, has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Rob Sawyer's 'The Prince of Centre-Halves, a story of the life and career of the enigmatic T.G. Jones has been shortlisted for best biography in the annual Sports Book of the Year awards.

Born in Queensferry in 1917, Jones was a stylish centre-half who began his career with Wrexham before winning a league championship medal in 1939 with Everton.

He was the subject of a huge £15,000 bid from Italian giants Roma in the days when transfers between European clubs were rare and was voted one of Everton's 11 original Millennium Giants in 1999 for his performances in the 1940s.

Jones won 17 international caps for Wales during and 11 during the Second World War, as well as making 178 appearances for Everton between 1936 and 1950 and went on to manage Bangor City from 1956 to 1967.

The highlight of his managerial career with the Citizens, was winning the Welsh Cup in 1962 and taking the club into the now defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup where they took on Italian giants Napoli.

He also played a pivotal role in the formation of Connah's Quay Nomads, before later running a newsagent's in Bangor where he died in 2004.

The winners will be announced at a black tie dinner at Lords on June 7, 2018.

James Corbett, of publishers deCourbertin, said: ‘I was delighted to learn that our titles have been recognised across such a wide range of categories.

"Such recognition is a fitting testament to the hard work and diligence of the authors and my team at our Liverpool HQ. We hope to return with some silverware from Lords next month!"