Wrexham striker Kieffer Moore has made a dazzling start to the Championship season, and may have baffled Sheffield United fans in the process.
Ollie Palmer had been a key player under Phil Parkinson, but he saw his Wrexham role reduced after the end of the January transfer window.
Palmer has now joined Swindon Town, but his slide down Parkinson’s pecking order left Wrexham needing another target man.
Parkinson loves to play with a big, physical target man, and few fit that bill much better than Kieffer Moore at Championship level.
Moore scored for Wales against Kazakhstan last week, taking his brilliant Wrexham form into international action.
Wrexham striker Kieffer Moore rated as Championship’s second-best player
Moore grabbed his first Wrexham goals with a brace against Sheffield Wednesday in August, before coming off the bench to score the winner against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup.
The 33-year-old also scored in Wrexham’s 2-0 win over Millwall, taking his tally to four goals in just three games.
Moore is quickly becoming a cult hero at Wrexham, and his performances are receiving high grades from WhoScored.
Powered by Opta data, WhoScored have given Moore a 7.86 out of 10 rating for his first four Championship games at Wrexham.
That leaves Moore as the second-best player in the Championship based on WhoScored’s rating system, only behind Bristol City’s Ross McCrorie, who sits on a 7.93 rating.
Moore is ahead of the likes of Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti at Bristol City, as well as American duo Josh Sargent and Haji Wright, of Norwich City and Coventry City, respectively.
The next-highest rated Wrexham player is Lewis O’Brien at 7.26, with Parkinson surely happy with how his two new signings have settled.
Sheffield United fans surely baffled by Kieffer Moore displays
Moore joined Wrexham for £2million this summer, leaving Sheffield United after spending just one year at Bramall Lane.
Blades fans may be left baffled upon seeing Moore rated as the Championship’s second-best player, having watched the Welshman struggle last season.
Moore scored six times in 30 Championship games last season, meaning he is already halfway to matching last season’s goal tally.
WhoScored handed Moore a 6.84 rating for last season’s displays, far from his current Wrexham rating.
Perhaps Moore is just at home at Wrexham, or maybe he is the latest target man to shine under Parkinson; either way, Wrexham appear to have struck gold.