Paul Mullin joining Wrexham was one of the biggest deals the club has ever pulled off.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac took ownership of Wrexham in February 2021 and made some major changes during their first summer transfer window.
After sacking manager Dean Keates, the Red Dragons released a number of players as they eyed a major rebuild.
A crucial part of that rebuild in their quest for National League promotion was the capture of Paul Mullin.
At the time, Shaun Harvey sent a warning to Reynolds and Mac about a potential transfer for the striker, but a deal still got over the line and an insight into why has now been shared.
Why Paul Mullin signed for Wrexham
In 2020/21, Mullin was on the books of League Two outfit Cambridge United.
He finished as the top goalscorer in the fourth division and helped Cambridge win promotion to League One.
As a result, with his contract up, the striker had plenty of interest, but Wrexham were able to convince him to drop down to the National League.
Now, speaking on the Fozcast, Harvey has shed some light on why Mullin joined, pointing towards the number nine wanting to be closer to home and suggesting the Dragons’ location was the crucial selling point.
He said: “Let’s look at Paul Mullin. Mulls came out of contract at Cambridge having scored the goals to get them from League Two to League One. Mulls was one of those players who, on the back of that, was arguably going to get his biggest move to another club.
“And I think in Mulls’ circumstances, he was probably second or third choice on lots of different lists for lots of different managers at clubs in the Championship in League One and League Two, and there was a set of circumstances where all these teams effectively signed either their first choice or another choice who became available.
“Some of them were on loan from Premier League clubs where wages rapidly subsidised, so we got this position where Paul Mullin’s still in the marketplace, he shouldn’t have been in the marketplace with his record, but that set of circumstances got us to the point where we could try and sign Paul to come and play in the National League, and sold him the dream of what we were going to achieve at Wrexham.
“And Paul Mullin came to Wrexham A, because we made him a decent financial offer comparable with league clubs, but also he wanted to be back closer to the North West and Liverpool to play from home.
“If we had been based in Southampton, we could have offered him three times as much money, and he still wouldn’t have come. I genuinely think that’s the case.”
Paul Mullin on signing for Wrexham
Previously, Mullin has explained why he signed for Wrexham and as Harvey suggested, being close to home was a key factor.
He said in 2024: “I signed a new contract with Wrexham in January because I absolutely adore it. I come home every day and see (his son) Albi, which is the main reason I signed in the first place.”
Mullin has since left Wrexham during the ongoing summer transfer window but has remained close to home.
He’s moved to North West outfit Wigan Athletic and scored his first goal for the Latics this week.