Wrexham, under the watchful eyes of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, are a club well and truly on the up.
Back-to-back Wrexham promotions to League One have cemented Wrexham AFC as a household name – along with the help of Rob and Ryan, of course.
Because of the club’s immediate rapid successes, the first-team squad roster at Wrexham has changed quite dramatically over the years.
Iconic stars like Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer remain – but some have departed the Racecourse. That includes Rob McElhenney’s favourite Wrexham player of all time – Luke Young.
Rob McElhenney’s favourite Wrexham player ever is Luke Young
McElhenney is a huge fan of the former Wrexham midfielder. He featured on the Men in Blazers podcast in October 2024, and initially spoke about the relationships he’s made with the players so far also being a highlight despite the on-pitch triumphs.
“But that’s only assuming that the peaks are wins on the pitch – and, yes, that is invariably true that winning on the pitch is of paramount importance,” McElhenney begins.
“But, some of those values are more personal. One thing that I was not prepared for was how difficult it is to say goodbye to players, because one of the very few downsides of becoming so personally close with the players is that you have to say goodbye to everybody at some point.
“Ultimately that is a metaphor of life in general, that people come and people go, but when you put so much value on the relationships that you have with people, to say goodbye is very difficult.
McElhenney then went on to reveal that his favourite player is in fact Young, for multiple reasons.
He continued: “We have had so many valleys along the way, in so far of Ben Tozer and Luke Young – who is my favourite player. I was very public in stating that. That’s no slight on the other players, I just love Luke.
“He was our longest-tenured player, he was with us from the very beginning, so to say goodbye to him was devastating.
“I got very close with Chloe, his wife, and children and I still speak with him – I check in with both of them. I check in with a lot of players that have left because it’s legitimately emotionally painful to say goodbye to them.
“I think I have learned that as fun as the experience of being the chairman of this club is, it can also be really, really hard to say goodbye.”
Luke Young was sold in the summer by Wrexham
We can tell why McElhenney was devastated to let Young go. The former club captain left Wrexham after 226 games over a six-year span for the Red Dragons. He was actually released following his contract expiration.
The now 31-year-old was let go with a number of players – which also included the notable name of Ben Tozer.
Wrexham players released in 2023
- Rob Lainton
- Callum McFadzean
- Aaron Hayden
- Jordan Tunnicliffe
- Ben Tozer
- Luke Young
- Owen Cushion
- Dan Davies
He did find a club. Young now plays for Cheltenham Town in League Two. Despite leaving, having the accolade of McElhenney’s favourite player must still be a nice feeling after moving on.