Wrexham succumbed to a 4-2 defeat against Sheffield United on Tuesday, with Phil Parkinson seeing one of his first-team stars struggle in the contest.
An entertaining spectacle played out at Bramall Lane as Wrexham were knocked out of the Carabao Cup but didn’t go down without a fight.
The hosts managed to put four past Callum Burton on his debut while defender Will Boyle was the one who opened the scoring for the Reds and Sebastian Revan scored his first competitive goal for Wrexham.
Phil Parkinson will have learned a lot about his players in the contest and Revan’s fine display on the left has dealt him a selection headache before they meet Bolton Wanderers on Sunday.
Revan was a standout for Wrexham, whereas others – namely Sam Dalby – struggled against Championship opposition.
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Sam Dalby struggled in defeat vs Sheffield United
Dalby lead the line alongside new signing Oliver Rathbone against the Blades.
It was an opportunity for the 24-year-old to stake his claim for a starting spot ahead of Jack Marriott and Ollie Palmer however, he struggled to leave his mark.
The Englishman was tasked with being the physical presence who Wrexham could launch long balls towards but every time he received possession, he was dispossessed, losing it 13 times in his 62 minutes on the pitch, as per Sofascore.
Dalby also misplaced 10 of his 18 passes, recording just 44% on target while failing to register a goal attempt or complete a successful dribble.
The one time he did have a rare opportunity to pull the trigger in the opposing box, his touch got away from him and the defender quickly snatched the ball.
It was a disappointing performance from the striker, who should be moved on from the club this summer.
Parkinson should offload Sam Dalby
Wrexham have progressed quickly as a club and it means some of their players are going to get left behind – one of those is Dalby.
On the evidence of his performances last term and how he fared last night, he’s not going to cut it as a League One striker and offloading him should be the transfer plan.
Parkinson has to be ruthless in the pursuit of success and with Dalby seeing his contract expire in 2025, Wrexham could scrape a small fee for him this summer, as opposed to letting him leave for free.
Selling the former Southend hitman could also have a domino effect, as it would free up a space for Parkinson to bring in a proven striker at this level such as Michael Smith.
Since arriving at Wrexham in the summer of 2022, Dalby has been a solid servant but it’s the best for the club – and his career – that he’s moved on this summer.