Wrexham signed player who rejected Liverpool and Arsenal and former Man Utd star

Wrexham enjoyed a engaged transportation model arsenic they bolstered their League One promotion hopes by signing 2 strikers who boasted Premier League credentials earlier successful their career

Wrexham person enjoyed a engaged January transportation window aft the club's Hollywood owners sanctioned immoderate immense signings.

Manager Phil Parkinson has brought successful 3 caller faces acknowledgment to the fiscal backing of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The League One outfit's hierarchy took enactment aft a fewer disappointing results, including defeats against Stevenage, Shrewsbury Town and Barnsley.

Wrexham missed retired connected immoderate targets, specified arsenic Sheffield Wednesday striker Michael Smith, who opted to enactment astatine Hillsborough, and Sunderland-bound Liverpool loanee Jayden Danns. The nine besides said goodbye to 2 members of its back-to-back promotion-winning team: midfielder James Jones, who near to articulation Burton Albion, and wing-back Anthony Forde, whose declaration was terminated by communal consent.

However, it was a palmy model for the Red Dragons wide arsenic they managed to marque cardinal improvements successful onslaught aft struggling for goals this season. Here, Mirror Football looks astatine the 3 important deals the Welsh broadside pulled off, including splashing retired connected an ex-Manchester United starlet and a subordinate who erstwhile snubbed Liverpool and Arsenal.

Ryan Longman

The archetypal caller accomplishment astatine the Racecourse successful January was Ryan Longman from Hull City. The interest paid for the 24-year-old was not disclosed, but is believed to beryllium successful the portion of £500,000.

Wrexham bushed disconnected contention from Championship broadside Oxford United to necktie the erstwhile Brighton antheral down until the extremity of the 2026/27 season, with the enactment of an further year. Parkinson was archetypal said to beryllium funny successful signing Longman past summertime disconnected the backmost of an awesome indebtedness spell astatine Millwall, with whom helium helped clasp their second-tier presumption by registering 3 goals and different 3 assists.

He missed a sizeable chunk of the commencement of the 2024-25 run done injury, but boasts implicit 100 Championship appearances to his name. Longman's Wrexham debut came arsenic a second-half substitute successful their 3-2 location decision to Stevenage.

His 2nd cameo was much enjoyable arsenic helium provided the all-important assistance for Elliot Lee's melodramatic 95th-minute victor against Crawley Town connected Saturday.

Sam Smith

Parkinson's adjacent determination was to bring successful Reading's apical scorer Sam Smith for a reported club-record interest of £2million. The 26-year-old striker penned a three-and-a-half-year woody with Wrexham aft scoring 11 goals successful 26 appearances for the Royals this season.

Smith has a beardown pedigree successful the crippled aft initially coming done Manchester United's academy, alongside the likes of Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay. The links to Old Trafford don't extremity there, arsenic helium was aboriginal managed astatine the commencement of his elder vocation astatine Reading by ex-United defender Jaap Stam.

Smith made his bow for Wrexham during Saturday's 2-1 triumph distant astatine Crawley. While helium did not nett connected his debut, helium came adjacent aft having a decent effort saved successful the archetypal half.

Jay Rodriguez

Following blistery connected the heels of Smith's accomplishment was Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez. The 35-year-old, who has 258 Premier League appearances nether his belt, finalised a power to North Wales aft being offered a fiscal woody worthy £15,000 per week, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Rodriguez erstwhile sparked a bidding warfare during his clip astatine Southampton, with Liverpool, Tottenham, and Arsenal each reportedly keen connected securing his signature successful 2015. He yet chose to enactment astatine St Mary's aft agreeing to a caller four-year deal.

Explaining his reasoning astatine the time, Rodriguez told the Daily Express: "The play we've had has been truly good, and I think, obviously, the loyalty that they've enactment into maine to connection maine a caller declaration means a batch to me, and it was conscionable thing I wanted to do."

The striker besides made his Wrexham debut against Crawley but was incapable to container a extremity successful his archetypal appearance.

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