Wrexham Sign Ryan Hardie
Last year we waited all summer for a new striker. This year, it's Phil's first signing.
No hiding the main story this week, so let’s jump right in:
News from the Week:
Striker Ryan Hardie Joins Wrexham
Wrexham have made their first signing of the transfer window: 28-year-old striker Ryan Hardie. The Scot joins Wrexham on a three-year deal, leaving the recently relegated Plymouth Argyle for an undisclosed fee (some sources report that it was only his £700,000 release clause, others are saying €825,000). In many ways, he’s a slightly better version of Callum Robinson, who Wrexham were rumored to be interested in last week (see below): he scored twelve goals last year…but he has also hit double digit goal totals in each of the last four seasons for Plymouth Argyle, something Robinson can’t boast. He’s also two years younger and has experience playing on the international stage for Scotland’s youth squads.
Hardie is an interesting signing. On the one hand, he’s a proven Championship-level striker. On the other, he isn’t necessarily a shoo-in to take over the second striker slot next to Sam Smith. If I were to guess, I would say he’s most likely competing with Jay Rodriguez for a spot in the starting XI, but at worst, he would be a lock on the bench. Personally, I’d expect to see him starting Match One at this point, and that’s primarily thanks to his pace. One major complaint about Wrexham’s striking strategy last year was not having a traditional “quick man” up front after Mullin was sidelined. Hardie checks that box, but he also spent time in an attacking midfield position last year. That combination could see him play more of a False 9, possibly behind both Smith and Rodriguez. If that were to be the case, I’d assume Matty James would be worried about his starting role’s security, who generally plays as our center midfielder.
Behind him in our striker depth chart sit Jack Marriott, Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, Mo Faal, Jake Bickerstaff, Callum Edwards, and James Rainbird. That’s an insanely long list, and while Bickerstaff, Edwards, and Rainbird aren’t expected to compete for the senior squad and will more than likely be loaned out, something will have to be done about Marriott, Mullin, Palmer, and Faal. I’d put money down that at least one of those four names will soon be transferred elsewhere, and I think we all know which one the rumor mill thinks is the likeliest candidate (spoiler alert: it’s Mullin).
Rumor Round Up
The transfer window is now open permanently until 9/1! Here are the latest names linked with the Dragons:
Barry Bannan
TalkSPORT reports that Wrexham are ‘monitoring’ Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan. The midfielder has been offered a new contract by Wednesday, but has yet to officially accept it. The 35-year-old veteran would add yet another seasoned Championship presence to the team…but also add yet another older player. But Bannan is still quite effective in the Championship. Last year, he had four goals and six assists, ultimately finishing 46th overall in FotMob rating, an improvement on his 23/24 campaign.
It appears the point is moot, however, as The Star reports Bannan wants to remain and retire at Wednesday.
Stuart Armstrong
The same report from TalkSport mentions Wrexham’s interest in Stuart Armstrong. Armstrong is another midfielder from Sheffield Wednesday, although he was only transferred there from the Vancouver Whitecaps in January. Armstrong is 33 and has spent decent time in the Premier League with Southampton, where he played several seasons with Danny Ings, another Wrexham target. Should Wrexham sign Ings, Armstrong would be an interesting option for midfield depth…but I wouldn’t rank him above a reserve role to start the season. Overall, can’t say I’d be too excited about this signing.
Joe Gelhardt
TeamTalk linked Wrexham to several strikers this week, including Leeds’ Joe Gelhardt. The 23-year-old has mostly been loaned out from the newly-promoted Premier League club, scoring five goals for Hull City last year. This would certainly not be the star striker who could easily challenge Rodriguez (and now Hardie) for the second striker position. Instead, he’d be added to the crowded group of reserve options.
Callum Robinson
The TeamTalk report also linked Wrexham to Cardiff City striker Callum Robertson. The 30-year-old scored twelve goals for Cardiff last year, the seventh-best total in the league. But beyond goal totals his stat sheet isn’t exactly eye-popping. If this deal were to go through, I’d predict he’d be in competition for the bench initially, rather than a starting role.
Updates:
Paul Mullin
Reporter Alan Nixon shared on his Patreon this week that Wigan, who seem to be close to signing striker Christian Saydee, are “still in talks” with Wrexham about Paul Mullin joining on a free transfer. It would shock me if Wrexham transfers Paul for nothing while he still has time left on his contract, especially considering the striker openly wants to stay in North Wales.
Sadly, it would not shock me to see this deal go through, although I doubt Mullin wants that as he’d likely be fighting for a spot at Wigan just as he’s fighting for a spot at Wrexham.
Get to Know The Championship
With a new league comes new competition. Throughout the summer editions of the Wreader I’m going to provide a little profile of each club, two per week, for those subscribers new to the English Football Pyramid.
Bristol City FC
Location: Bristol, England
Founded: 1894
Nickname(s): The Robbins, The Red Army, Cider Army
Ownership: Steve Lansdown
Last Season: 6th in the Championship
With the exception of a two-year drop to League One from 2014-2015, Bristol City have been fixtures of the Championship since 2007. Before that, they spent many years in the third tier, so one could say they’ve been rising steadily for decades. That said, they’ve only had two brief forays in the top tier of the pyramid, the latest falling between 1976 and 1980, sixty-nine years after their five-year stay from 1906-1911. They haven’t won the second-tier title since the 1905/1906 campaign.
But here in modern times, the Robbins are taking off. They’ve improved their finish in the Championship each year since 20/21, finishing in the final playoff spot last season, but couldn’t score a goal against Sheffield United in either of the semi-final matches. Still, it was a successful campaign that they can build upon next season. Midfielder Jason Knight was their top-rated player, finishing eleventh in overall FotMob ranking. Winger Anis Mehmeti and striker Nahki Wells both hit double-digit goal totals last year…but Wells is set to depart this month, along with five others. That list includes winger/midfielder Mark Sykes, another one of their top players. They also played the second half of the season without defender Luke McNally, their second-highest-rated player (and second-highest-paid player), which certainly impacted their late run at promotion. He’s due back in October, so if the manager can bring in some new talent to replace what they’re losing, they have a real shot at rising even further up the table again next year.
Of course, now that Liam Manning was poached by Norwich City…they’ll need to find that manager first. Reports have surfaced that Gerhard Struber, manager of FC Köln in the Bundesliga, is on the brink of moving into the role, but hasn’t officially signed.
At a minimum, however, I wouldn’t expect to see the club fall any lower than twelfth next season.
Preston North End FC
Location: Preston, Lancashire, England
Founded: 1880
Nickname(s): The Lilywhites, The Invincibles
Ownership: Wordon Limited
Last Season: 20th in the Championship
For the first half of their existence, Preston North End were a mainstay of the top tier…but that reputation ended in 1961 when they were relegated down to the second tier. They have yet to return. Throughout the decades following that demotion, the Lilywhites have been fighting to inch up from the bottom two tiers of the EFL. Since the early 2000s, they’ve achieved a relatively comfortable stay in the Championship — save a four-year detour to League One —finishing mostly in mid-table.
But their ten-year run since rising from that rut in League One nearly came to an end this past season when they finished just one point clear of the relegation zone. Now, they face the challenge of replacing much of their squad depth, with ten players scheduled to depart, including their top-rated player this past season: midfielder Kaine Kesler-Hayden. They’ve already been busy in the transfer window, however, bringing in seven new players. The highlight of the bunch so far is Pol Valentín, Sheffield Wednesday’s primary right-back from the past two seasons. If these new acquisitions can boost their defense and reel in their fifty-nine conceded goals from last season, the striking duo Emil Riis Jakobsen and Milutin Osmajic (who combined for twenty-one goals last season) should be able to lead the squad to a bounce-back campaign. That said, I would be surprised if that bounce went much higher than tenth on the table.
The transfer tracker is back! Throughout the summer, I’ll keep a rolling summary of Wrexham’s comings and goings at the end of each newsletter.
Updates this week:
1.) Ryan Hardie has arrived!
Arrivals
Ryan Hardie »»» Signed through the 27/28 season
Departures
Mark Howard »»» Currently a free agent
Steven Fletcher »»» Currently a free agent
Josh Adam »»» Currently a free agent
Jordan Davies »»» Currently a free agent
Harry Dean »»» Currently a free agent
Brad Foster »»» Currently a free agent
Liam Hall »»» Currently a free agent
Sam Dalby »»» Joined Bolton Wanderers on a 4-year contract
Known Offers
James Rainbird (pending recovery)
Tom Cairney (reportedly)
Rumored Interest
Jamie Vardy
Tom Lawrence
Charlie Savage
Sunusi Ibrahim
Aaron Cresswell
Lewis O’BrienBen Davies - Extended with Tottenham
Myles Peart-Harris
Danny Ings
Danny Ward
Stuart Armstrong
Barry Bannan
How about a parting poll this week? What should be Wrexham’s next target? Let me know your thoughts!
