Wrexham’s remarkable rise through English football has finally hit a major speed bump. After back-to-back promotions that took them from the National League all the way to the Championship, the Welsh club’s momentum appears to have stalled.
Phil Parkinson’s side have managed just two wins from their opening nine matches and currently sit 18th in the table—only four points above the relegation zone. It’s a worrying start for a team that invested heavily in the summer to make itself competitive at this level.
The Red Dragons’ recruitment drive was ambitious, bringing in the likes of Josh Windass, Callum Doyle, Lewis O’Brien, Conor Coady, Ryan Hardie, and Kieffer Moore. On paper, those names should have lifted Wrexham into at least the top half of the Championship standings. Instead, the club’s underwhelming form has started to cast doubt on Parkinson’s long-term future in the dugout.
Among the summer arrivals, the headline signing was Nathan Broadhead, who joined from Ipswich Town in a club-record deal reportedly worth up to £10 million. The move generated plenty of excitement, but also questions—chief among them, how exactly Broadhead fits into Wrexham’s system.
Broadhead’s preferred role is as a traditional winger, yet Parkinson has long favoured formations built around wing-backs rather than wide attackers. As a result, the 27-year-old has struggled to secure a place in the starting lineup, featuring from the outset in just one of Wrexham’s nine league fixtures.
Despite that slow start, Wrexham fan pundit Liam Grice remains optimistic that Broadhead will eventually prove his worth.
“When the signing was announced, I didn’t think he suited the way we play,” Grice told Football League World. “He’s a winger who likes to drop deep and get on the ball, but we rely more on our wing-backs. That said, he’s shown flashes of real quality when he’s come off the bench—particularly against Leicester. It’s just not been enough yet to justify the £10 million price tag.
“I think with time and confidence, he’ll adapt to Parkinson’s system and show why we brought him in. Maybe we paid a bit over the odds, but that’s part of growing as a club. Overall, I’m happy he’s here.”
Even so, Wrexham’s record signing spending more time on the bench than on the pitch is far from ideal. Parkinson may soon face a tough choice: either tweak his formation to better accommodate Broadhead or continue to leave a multimillion-pound player underused.
Adjusting the setup to include Broadhead could help unlock more from Wrexham’s other forwards—especially Kieffer Moore and Josh Windass, who thrive on service from wide areas. If not, the club risks turning their biggest-ever transfer into an uncomfortable reminder of misplaced ambition.
For a team that has risen so quickly, Wrexham now face their first real test of stability at Championship level—and how they handle Broadhead’s situation could say a lot about their readiness to stay there.