With the EFL Trophy final just days away, Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield admitted that he had positive ‘selection headaches’ to make for when his side take on Peterborough United on April 7.
But he isn’t the only member of the Chairboys family who has an important decision to make ahead of the Wembley showpiece this Sunday.
Meet 20-year-old Jayden Wilkins – a lifelong Wycombe supporter who lives in the tiny village of Feniton, Devon, and he might have the largest Wanderers shirt collection in the world.
Despite being two decades old, Mr Wilkins has assembled a collage of kits that predates his birth in November 2003.
In all, he has close to 100 Wanderers shirts but he has the ‘big’ decision of just choosing one for this weekend’s match at Wembley.
Speaking exclusively to the Free Press, he explained: “I never considered myself to be a shirt collector until last year as I’ve always had an eye on a good football shirt.
“Wycombe are my team and I love collecting retro shirts.
“But due to them being a lower league club, they’re rare to get hold of and for me, I’m a fan of retro clothing in general so when Wycombe shirts are available, I’m quick to snap them up.
“It started when I saw Match Worn Shirts started to auction off kits online, and Wycombe match worn shirts became widely available.
“Through that, I managed to get a signed Brandon Hanlan one, a signed Chris Forino one and a few more.
“The shirts have played a part in my teenage years and now in my early adulthood so in the future, I can show my kids and tell them stories about the players in these kits who I grew up watching.
“They’re nice keepsakes to have.”
Kits that are part of Mr Wilkins’ collection include rare items such as a match worn and signed 2019/20 Nnamdi Ofoborh away kit, and a 2022/23 match-issued Curtis Thompson home jersey.
The latter was never worn due to the club’s crest being damaged after it was partly melted on a heatpress.
When asked about his rarest kit, he said: “I’ve got a Franco Ravizzoli kit in the yellow highlighter colour, and I believe I’m only one of two people outside the club shop to have that shirt.
“The Max Stryjek one was also available but it was from the game we lost to Barnsley in November, and we all know what happened there.
“These shirts, from what I believe, aren’t available for sale so in a few years, the value might grow.
“It’s a cool one to have as Franco is one of the few Argentinian players to have played for Wycombe, and it’ll be a nice memory of his time at the club.”
The Chairboy fan also admitted that despite having around 100 kits in his collection, his favourite is the 2002/03 home shirt, as he ‘wears it all the time when going out and about’, and that he alternates the tops on his bedroom wall due to the high volume in his arsenal.
Finally, on what Wycombe kit he’ll wear at Wembley, he concluded: “I was going to wear the green Forino shirt from this season as we’ll be playing in green, but I decided against it.
Ahead of the game, @ErlingHanlan picked up this 2002/03 home kit 🟦 #Chairboys pic.twitter.com/gzCXtkzVjd
— James Richings (@James_BFP) August 5, 2023
“I might wear the home shirt from this year as I’ve not seen Wycombe lose this season when I’ve worn a Hummell kit.
“Yeah, I think I’ll go with that.”
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