Wrexham’s 6 biggest transfer flops that supporters will want to forget

In terms of attracting top players, Wrexham is scarcely a team that faces difficulties in this regard these days.

With players like Paul Mullin, Elliott Lee, and Steven Fletcher in their ranks, the club’s fortunes have significantly improved since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over in Hollywood.

For the Red Dragons’ supporters, who have seen their fair share of disappointments over the years, it wasn’t always this way.

Here, we look back at six players that did not live up to expectations when they were at the Racecourse.

1Ian Rush

The club’s supporters were giddy when Ian Rush, a previous European Cup champion, joined Wrexham in 1998.

The Liverpool icon, nevertheless, made 17 appearances for Brian Flynn’s team without scoring a single goal.

To be fair, the 37-year-old striker was nearing the end of his career and was considered one of the finest in the world during his prime, but it’s safe to say that this deal fell short of expectations.

According to the Daily Post, he was once selected as the team’s worst-ever player in a survey conducted by Four Four Two magazine. However, it’s possible that this was influenced by the fact that he was leading Chester, a bitter rival of Wrexham, at the time.

2Xavi Valero

These days, Xavi Valero is a man with an amazing resume who has coached goalkeeping at teams like West Ham, Liverpool, and Real Madrid, among others.

But the very mention of the Spanish goalie will chill Wrexham supporters to the bone, and for good cause.

Denis Smith signed him in January 2005 only after watching him on video, which is seldom a good sign. He had three underwhelming outings.

He was pulled off during halftime of a match against Chesterfield following a string of blunders, with the team’s two central defenders telling Smith they didn’t feel comfortable playing alongside him.

A teenage Ben Foster was brought in on loan from Stoke to launch his career as a result of the circumstances, which had some positive effects. He later made a memorable comeback in 2023 when he was instrumental in Wrexham’s promotion to the Football League.

3Khaellem Bailey-Nicholls

During Khaellem Bailey-Nicholls’ tenure with the team in 2016–17, Wrexham had one of its worst seasons in recent memory.

The summer additions made by then-manager Gary Mills, particularly the unidentified Birmingham City striker, confused the fans.

The young player absurdly set himself a goal of scoring 20 to 30 goals when he first joined.

In actuality, he only made three club appearances in competition. His ultimate goal total? None.

4Terry Cooke

The most well-known image of midfielder Terry Cooke is most likely the young face at the end of the row in the renowned Manchester United “Class of 92” shot.

It’s reasonable to argue that he did not achieve the same level of success as players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and David Beckham.

In fact, Cooke found it difficult to establish himself while on loan at Wrexham in 1998.

In a stroke of serendipitous timing, the player himself joined for Man City after facing them during his short-lived spell at the Racecourse and having a more favourable experience there.

5Richard Hope

Being a member of the squad when Wrexham experienced their first-ever Football League relegation will make Richard Hope’s name infamous forever.

After the defender helped rival Shrewsbury Town to the League Two play-off final, Brian Carey signed the player to a three-year contract in 2007.

He was named captain, but in a dreadful season for Wrexham, he put up a string of subpar performances in his 35 league and cup games.

After the club was relegated to non-league football, he was later placed on a transfer list and joined Grimsby Town.

6Lamine Sakho

In his early managing career, Dean Saunders signed some dubious players.

When former Senegal international Lamine Sakho first arrived at the Racecourse in 2009, he arrived in a massive Hummer, adding a glamorous flair to the venue.#

But it was as good as it got for Wrexham, as he managed just one goal.

His most memorable moment occurred during a game against Hayes & Yeading when he was sent off for a nasty headbutt.

He quickly expressed regret to Saunders, but after failing to have any effect, his contract was terminated in March 2010 by mutual consent.

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