Wrexham were after several players in the summer as they prepared for life in the Championship, their first campaign in the second tier for 43 years.
The Red Dragons wanted to bring a certain level of quality to the team to be able to compete in the division, with Wrexham spending £33 million on these players to achieve this.
While they landed 13 players, there were several they missed out on signing this summer, and they will face one of them this weekend when they travel to Stoke City, as Aaron Cresswell could be a thorn in the side of Wrexham.
However, there was one player they were chasing, along with several other Championship clubs, who has decided to call it a day with football.
Wrexham target Tomas Galvin has quit football to become a Gaelic footballer
The Red Dragons were interested in signing Tomas Galvin from Dungannon Swifts from the Northern Irish Premiership this summer, along with Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic.
The 21-year-old would not move across the Irish Sea to join any of these clubs, opting to remain at his current club.
However, only a matter of months later it appears that he will never make his way to England to play professional football, as he has quit the sport to begin a career in Gaelic football with Armagh, who were All-Ireland champions in 2024.
Speaking to the Belfast Newsletter, Swifts manager Dean McAree said: “Tomas has been invited to play for Armagh GAA, and he has decided that at this stage it’s maybe the best thing for him.
“He wants to try it. It’s a lifetime ambition of Tomas’. I respect that and wish him well. We still hold his registration. He’s been told as well that if it doesn’t work out, the door here will always be open for him to come back. We wish him well.
“He’s been a fantastic kid to work with. He’s been brilliant here. He will have a bright future at soccer as well; it’s just an ambition of his that he wants to try.
“For me, it came out of the blue massively. I have so much respect for Tomas that I certainly wouldn’t have fallen out with him. It wasn’t a conversation at this stage that I was going to win; I wasn’t going to come out of it with Tomas staying here.
“I knew that if I went down that route I would end up falling out with Tomas, and I didn’t want that to happen. I wish him well, and hopefully he returns here at some stage.”
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Tomas Galvin’s history with Gaelic football
Galvin is not the only Irish footballer who has considered a switch to the amateur sport, as John Egan spoke about becoming a Gaelic footballer after he leaves professional football in England.
The 21-year-old has been given the chance to join Armagh Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), already playing hurling and Gaelic football for his local Keady GAA club – as well as senior hurling and underage Gaelic football for Armagh.
This is a lifelong ambition of the footballer, despite coming at a bad time for Dungannon Swifts, as he has made 12 appearances for them so far this campaign.
Wrexham may keep an eye on Galvin moving forward should he wish to move back into football, with there being a hope he can achieve success in both sports like Kevin Moran and Anthony Tohill.