Things have changed a lot over the last four years at Wrexham, including the kind of transfer fees the Red Dragons pay for players. Here, we break down each time the club made a new record signing in the Rob and Ryan era.
Obviously, when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney came into town, we knew Wrexham were going to enjoy themselves and have some success.
No one could ever have predicted that Wrexham would secure three-successive promotions and be in the Championship already, but here we are.
It’s cost the pair a pretty penny over the years, though. Among the Wrexham transfers this summer there have been three new record signings alone.
To help you keep up with all the biggest Wrexham signings, we’ve put together a handy timeline of all eight times Rob and Ryan have broken the club’s transfer record.
All the record-breaking transfers sanctioned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
Ollie Palmer – £300k
The first big signing of the Rob and Ryan revolution was Ollie Palmer, who joined Wrexham in January 2022 from AFC Wimbledon.
Wrexham snatched him from a then-League One club (though Wimbledon did go down to League Two following that season), and just like the Paul Mullin move, it was seen as a major signal of intent from the Red Dragons.
He’s now gone on to score 44 goals in 150 games for Wrexham, so it’s safe to say that £300,000 was definitely money well spent.
Seb Revan – £358k
Wrexham had to wait a while to break that record again, but in the summer of 2024, three players set a new transfer record. First up was Seb Revan, who joined from Aston Villa in July 2024 for just over £350k.
Ultimately, Revan has struggled to make an impact at Wrexham. He appeared 27 times for the Red Dragons last season, but most of those were substitute appearances or cup games.
Revan went on loan to Burton Albion last week and will now spend the 2025/26 campaign in League One.
Ollie Rathbone – £430k
Less than a month later, Wrexham signed Ollie Rathbone from Rotherham on August 9, 2024 for a fee of around £430,000.
Rathbone became a key player last season for Wrexham, making 48 appearances and registering eight goals and two assists.
He’ll miss a good chunk of the start of this season due to injury, but we expect Rathbone to have a part to play when he does return.
Mo Faal – £602k
Three weeks after the arrival of Rathbone, Wrexham broke their record again when they signed young striker Mo Faal from West Brom on 30th August, 2024, for just over £600,000.
Faal played just 17 times last season, totaling 720 minutes. He scored four goals, but was way down in the Wrexham attacking pecking order.
It’s not surprising that Wrexham officially confirm player exit as striker leaves on loan, Phil Parkinson ‘delighted’ on loan for the 2025/26 campaign. Darren Moore was very impressed with Faal after his debut, when he scored a winner in the Carabao Cup.
- READ MORE: Wrexham ‘laughed out the room’ as they look to complete defender deal, they’re £6m too short
Sam Smith – £2.07m
With promotion hanging in the balance, Rob and Ryan really broke the bank in January 2025 to sign Sam Smith from Reading for a fee believed to be just over £2m.
The striker ended up being a very useful addition in firing Wrexham to automatic promotion, with seven goals and one assist in the back end of the campaign.
Smith missed pre-season with fitness issues, but is back now and will be a key player once again as Wrexham look to establish themselves in the Championship.
Liberato Cacace – £2.15m
Liberato Cacace arrived from Empoli as a relatively out-of-the-blue signing this summer, in a deal that’s thought to be worth an initial £2.2m, with add-ons that could take it closer to £4m potentially.
We initially thought Cacace would play a bit-part role, but he started over club captain James McClean against Southampton on the opening day of the season. Suffice it to say, the New Zealand international could play more of a key role this season than we thought.
- READ MORE: New signing Liberato Cacace could follow in the footsteps of a Wrexham fan favourite next summer
Lewis O’Brien – £3m
Initial reports suggested the fee behind Lewis O’Brien’s move to Wrexham was closer to £5m but it seems he cost them £3m.
He arrived just days after Cacace to break the record once more, but if the add-ons for the New Zealand player bear fruit then he will surpass O’Brien eventually.
With an abundance of Premier League experience and quality, O’Brien is seen as a major coup for Wrexham and could be the difference between them keeping afloat this season and pushing for promotion.
Nathan Broadhead – £10m
We can’t quite believe we’re saying this, but Wrexham have absolutely shattered their transfer record once again this summer with a whopping £10m deal for Nathan Broadhead.
The former Ipswich man was signed due to the injury to Kieffer Moore, and is seen as a huge statement to the rest of the division that the Red Dragons are not going to sleepwalk into the season by any means.
Spending £10m on a player is unheard of for a newly-promoted team, but Wrexham are not your typical team, are they? Now, it just remains to be seen whether they were right to spend so much money on Broadhead!