Wrexham have broken their transfer record to bring Ollie Rathbone to the Racecourse Ground.
Since Hollywood duo Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought the Red Dragons in February 2021, the club have not been shy about spending big to achieve success.
Wrexham will face Wycombe Wanderers in their first-ever League One game later today at 5:30pm BST.
A key factor in the Welsh outfit achieving back-to-back promotions under Phil Parkinson has been their high spending.
This summer alone, the club have now made seven senior signings and more additions could still happen before deadline day.
Arthur Okonkwo returned to Wrexham at the beginning of the transfer window, joining permanently from Arsenal.
The goalkeeper has since been followed through the door by Lewis Brunt, Dann Scar, Callum Burton, Sebastian Revan, George Dobson, and now, Ollie Rathbone.
News of the midfielder’s imminent move to Wales broke on Thursday evening, with Rathbone undergoing his Wrexham medical on Friday.
Ollie Rathbone sends message to Wrexham fans
The transfer has since been confirmed, with the 27-year-old putting pen to paper on a three-year deal with the League One side.
The former Manchester United starlet has joined Wrexham for a club-record fee, according to The Athletic’s Richard Sutcliffe.
The previous record was held by Ollie Palmer, who signed for £300,000 in January 2022.
The exact figure Rathbone was signed for has not been confirmed by either club but it is understood to have been more than what Wrexham paid for Palmer.
After his transfer was completed, Rathbone took to Instagram to pen a brief nine-word message to fans of his new club.
He wrote: “Delighted to be here, can’t wait to get going”
Rathbone will need to perform better than Ollie Palmer
As football fans are aware, transfer fees do not always dictate how well a player will do for a particular club.
Palmer is a good example of this and Wrexham will need Rathbone to outperform their previous record transfer if they are to succeed in the 2024/25 League One season.
The 32-year-old centre-forward has had a decent spell in Wales but has perhaps not lived up to the transfer fee paid for him.
Palmer has scored 39 goals and provided four assists in 118 games in all competitions for Wrexham.
This is not a terrible record but Paul Mullin has overshadowed the Englishman during his time under Parkinson.
Mullin is injured and will miss out versus Wycombe and despite Palmer being one of their most expensive signings, he is yet to show he can step up and replace their top scorer.
Given the stakes are much higher in League One and the games should be a lot harder, Wrexham will need Rathbone to live up to his transfer fee if they are to achieve anything in 2024/25.