Beck-Ray Enoru: The EFL Transfer That Shows How Important The FA Cup Still Is

FA Cup Cult Hero Beck-Ray Enoru Makes The Move Up To The EFL, Joining Notts County

There seems to be a pattern emerging of young wingers putting their names in headlights in the Third Round of the FA Cup in recent times.

This season, it was Isaac Buckley-Ricketts whose marvellous improvisation knocked holders Crystal Palace out of the cup in the competition's biggest upset of all time.

Last year, though, it was Beck-Ray Enoru who stole the show, starring for National League side Tamworth against giants Tottenham Hotspur.

Unfortunately, his heroics didn't quite match the level of Macclesfield's, as Tamworth fell to a valiant defeat after taking Spurs to extra time, but his individual performance garnered enough attention and, a year later, it looks as though it's paid off.

Signed and sealed 🤝

Welcome to the Lane, Beck-Ray Enoru! 🇨🇲

— Notts County FC (@Official_NCFC) January 10, 2026

The Cameroonian has made the step up into League Two this January, signing for Notts County in a move that has triggered a lot of excitement among Magpies fans.

The Zara Shop Assistant

Not only was Enoru's performance worthy of attention, with some Spurs fans jokingly suggesting that they should sign him in a swap deal for Timo Werner, so was the story around the then 22-year-old.

Wages in the National League are, understandably, often not liveable, so the winger would work part-time as a shop assistant at Zara to keep himself in a financially healthy position.

As a result, Enoru was branded as 'The Zara Shop Assistant' to those on X who raved about him, which ended up being quite a number of people who were impressed by his ability on the ball, especially against a defender with as much top-level experience as Pedro Porro.

Part time National League footballer and Zara Shop Assistant, Beck-Ray Enoru has easily had a better half of football than 50 million striker, Timo Werner. The magic of the FA Cup #FACup

— Molly Shepherd-Boden (@MollyShep) January 12, 2025

He has continued to prove his quality in the National League this season, dropping some excellent performances from the wing that have kept Tamworth fans raving about him, and is one of many young wingers dead-set on bringing exciting, attacking, one-on-one runs back into football.

Enoru can produce some serious quality when he gets the ball at his feet, and his ability to glide through opposition defences is enough to keep fans on their feet for most of the game, a prospect that County fans are especially excited by.

Individual brilliance from Beck-Ray Enoru to score Tamworth's second goal🪄@tamworthfc | @NL_Enterprise

— National League on DAZN (@DAZN_NationalLg) September 2, 2025

Of course, it's going to be a big step up for the young lad to make the move into the EFL, but with the right attitude (which journalists who have covered him seem to believe he has) and the level of talent that he possesses, I wouldn't give it long before he starts stunning League Two.

It's no surprise that, with all the attention he received from that cup tie against Spurs, there are constantly posts about him that receive massive audiences, and the announcement from Tamworth about his departure was no different.

📢 CLUB STATEMENT: Thank you Beck-Ray! 😢

Beck-Ray Enoru has today completed a permanent move to Notts County for an undisclosed fee.

Andy Peaks said:

🗣️ “I’m really pleased for Beck’s to be given the opportunity to join a club in the Football League. He had a few offers in… pic.twitter.com/zry31PuG8B

— Tamworth Football Club (@tamworthfc) January 10, 2026

That post, combined with Notts County's announcement, totalled over 600k impressions on X, which is an almighty number for a transfer between National League and League Two clubs, which goes to show how interested people are in this lad's career after that day against Spurs.

The Cup Works Wonders

We all love a story about a part-timer facing off against one of the world's best, especially when they go toe-to-toe and make a fight out of it, which explains the media hysteria around Sam Heathcoate, the PE teacher who is part of the now famous Macclesfield squad of 2026 that beat Palace.

It's moments like this that remind us of the entertainment that the FA Cup offers up season after season, justifying the claim that it is the best domestic cup competition in the world.

The drama it delivers each year is second to none, bringing upsets, underdogs and part-time Zara workers to the attention of an audience of millions.

January 2025: A Zara shop assistant warming up as a non-league footballer ahead of facing Tottenham Hotspur live on ITV.

January 2026: Breaking into the EFL and signing for the World’s Oldest Football League Club, Notts County, on a two-and-a-half-year-deal.

Proper that. 👏🖤 https://t.co/vMqSm82kKi pic.twitter.com/CixCPhpgYd

— K-Ci Rennicks (@KRennicks40) January 10, 2026

With that said, it's more important than ever that fans acknowledge the importance of the FA Cup, as the future of the competition as we know it is at genuine risk of losing its 'magic' as a result of some of the changes it has undergone in recent years.

We lost cup replays last year, a move that has and will continue to limit the financial growth of smaller clubs in cup runs, and this year we are losing coverage.

TNT has been putting the majority of matches behind paywalls, limiting fans from being able to feel a part of the magnificent stories of the cup unless they're prepared to shell out £31 a month.

Beck-Ray Enoru is the perfect example of how formative the FA Cup can be in a young player's career, as without the press he received last year, there's a good chance he wouldn't have been on the radar of as many EFL clubs as he was, and his move to Notts County may not have even happened.