Wrexham’s transfer window came to an end on Monday, with Phil Parkinson landing three more additions on deadline day.
Promotion to the Championship meant Wrexham were always likely to spend on new signings.
Few could have really expected Wrexham to spend more than £30million on bolstering Phil Parkinson’s squad, though.
Wrexham have outspent Barcelona this summer, with 13 new signings arriving at the STōK Cae Ras.
Deadline day saw Ben Sheaf, Issa Kabore and Dominic Hyam sign for Wrexham, bringing Parkinson’s window to an end in style.
Wrexham pre-season changed Phil Parkinson’s transfer plans
Wrexham only had two signings on board before the pre-season trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Ryan Hardie and Danny Ward were Wrexham’s first two signings, and business started a little slowly for Parkinson.
That quickly changed as Wrexham became prolific spenders, with Liberato Cacace’s arrival sparking a run of four signings in six days.
The Athletic now report that Wrexham’s disappointing pre-season displays in Australia and New Zealand prompted a major rethink.
Wrexham wanted to gradually improve Parkinson’s squad, but poor displays against Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix sparked a change.
Defeats on tour left Wrexham to attack the transfer market ‘much more aggressively’, sparking 11 new signings on top of Hardie and Ward.
Some may say that pre-season results don’t matter, but Parkinson clearly didn’t like what he saw in those friendlies.
Parkinson should now be delighted with his summer business and must believe that his Wrexham squad is in a much better position to succeed.
Wrexham now have enviable squad depth
13 signings in one window is quite the revolution, and we have seen some fan favourites move on over the course of the summer.
Steven Fletcher was released, Paul Mullin joined Wigan Athletic, and Ollie Palmer completed a move to Swindon Town in recent days.
Parkinson has made tough decisions over the course of the summer, but his squad now looks very strong.
Danny Ward’s injury is a blow, but having Arthur Okonkwo and Callum Burton behind him just sums up the depth at Parkinson’s disposal.
Max Cleworth, Lewis Brunt, Conor Coady, Dominic Hyam, Dan Scarr, Eoghan O’Connell and Callum Doyle represent fantastic options at the back.
Ryan Barnett and Ryan Longman were battling it out at right wing-back, but Issa Kabore now joins to add another option there, while James McClean and Liberato Cacace will compete on the left.
Parkinson is well-stocked in midfield as well, as he can call on Ben Sheaf, Matty James, George Thomason, George Dobson, Lewis O’Brien, Elliott Lee and Harry Ashfield.
The currently-injured Andy Cannon will even return at some stage this season and could make an impact of his own.
Kieffer Moore will be Wrexham’s leading striker, but Ryan Hardie, Sam Smith, Nathan Broadhead and Josh Windass can all support him in attack, while Jay Rodriguez could return down the line.
Many Championship clubs would love this kind of depth, and after Wrexham beat Millwall 2-0 over the weekend, a strong season could be on the horizon.