Southampton are already aware of the threat posed by one Wrexham summer signing, who has previously spoken about how he was able to thrive against the Championship side.
Wrexham face a trip to Southampton on the opening day of the 2025/26 Championship season as Phil Parkinson’s side encounter their biggest challenge yet.
The Red Dragons have incredibly notched three successive promotions, taking them from the National League to the Championship, but this season will throw up all sorts of difficulties for Wrexham, coming up against clubs with hefty budgets.
Things do not get too much more difficult for Wrexham than the opening day, coming up against a recently-relegated Southampton side, who will be hoping to respond well to their drop from the Premier League under new boss Will Still.
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson will be turning towards his ranks with Championship experience, especially one star who has already scored and provided a brilliant performance against this weekend’s opposition.
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Wrexham signing Ryan Hardie has previously shone against Southampton
This summer has seen Wrexham recruit heavily, particularly in the category of proven Championship stars. As a result of this demand from Phil Parkinson, they turned towards proven goalscorer Ryan Hardie from Plymouth Argyle.
During his time with the Pilgrims, Hardie proved to be very efficient in front of goal, and even found himself on the scoresheet against a Southampton side that would go on to be promoted to the Premier League.
Despite losing 2-1 away to the Saints in the 2023/24 season, Hardie still reflected positively on his performance. Via Plymouth Argyle’s club website, Hardie said: “[For the goal} I was going across the front post, so I thought my man would surely play him on. I never even thought of offside. I was away towards the fans, so at the time I never even thought of it. We’ve seen it back, it’s onside.
“I think when it was 2-0, we just flipped a switch and we started getting after them, started putting them in uncomfortable positions.
“I always gamble on mistakes and try to give the opposition the chance to think they’ve got the pass on and I always like intercepting it. It’s the same in the middle of the park.
“Luckily it came off then, but it never meant much in the game.
Hardie also bagged in the home clash against Southampton, which also ended 2-1 to the Saints. He scored a poacher-esque finish, getting on the end of a Morgan Whittaker low cross into the box and pouncing on the ball before slamming it home.
Ryan Hardie will be crucial for Wrexham this season
As seen from his time at Plymouth Argyle, there is plenty of expectation on Ryan Hardie to perform this season, but he should slip into Phil Parkinson’s system seamlessly.
With Liberato Cacace and Ryan Longman playing out wide, they will be keen to find the imposing Hardie in-and-around the box with crosses, just like Wrexham have previously done in earlier seasons.
Parkinson puts plenty of importance on having an established set of strikers with proven quality, and Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have provided him with exactly that this summer.