Wrexham spent big this summer. But they actually got one of their 13 summer signings for much less than his estimated transfer market value.
During the summer transfer window, Wrexham forked out more than £30million on new players, with 13 new faces arriving at the Racecourse in total.
Yet the Dragons are struggling in the league. Phil Parkinson’s side are in 18th place of the Championship table after nine games and the Wrexham boss is under pressure.
But he’s not been helped by injuries. Already this season we’ve seen the likes of Josh Windass spent time on the sidelines, with the likes of Ollie Rathbone yet to even feature.
Another name injured right now is Liberato Cacace. Wrexham signed Cacace for an initial £2.2million in the summer, though the fee could later rise up to £4million for the New Zealand international.
Wrexham actually underpaid for Liberato Cacace
Wrexham desperately needed reinforcements on the left side of defence this summer. Cacace arrived from Italian side Empoli and he’s since featured twice, with Wrexham fans initially impressed with Cacace’s performances.
But the 25-year-old missed all of September through injury and remains sidelined. When he returns, it’ll be a big boost for Parkinson, and he may be pleased to know that Wrexham actually got a very good deal for Cacace, even if his transfer fee eventually rises to £4million.
Fresh data from CIES Football Observatory has estimated that Cacace is now worth up to £4.5million. On a contract until 2028, if he can return to action in good form then he could be someone who Wrexham eventually make a very tidy profit on, or if not then get their money’s worth for.
When is Liberato Cacace expected to return for Wrexham?
Last month, Parkinson confirmed that Cacace had suffered a ‘frustrating’ injury setback but failed to put a timeline on his potential return.
Going into this month’s international break, though, Parkinson explained how he’ll use the break to play some 11 v 11 games and get the likes of Cacace up to speed, so it seems like the full-back is at least in full training.
Parkinson told BBC Sport: “We’ve got to look at these two weeks and have some 11 v 11 game time for Ollie Rathbone, George Thomason and get Libby [Liberato Cacace] as close as we can.”
Ryan Longman has held his own in the left-back position and then there’s James McClean providing cover. So Cacace returning will make that left-back position particularly strong and well-covered.
Wrexham next play Stoke City in the Championship next weekend.