Wrexham Football Club have brought a new focus on the National League over the last couple of seasons, no longer is it purely football fans who are drawn in but exposure in Hollywood has had eyes from all over the world on the Welsh club and the league.
However you view their march to the top the National League, one thing for sure is that they have promotion back to the Football League in their hands. Talk of the club’s financial power is fairly widespread and it has been claimed that they have a League One already, so, with promotion in mind as well as their progression following that, how does their squad match up to values of those in League One?
Firstly, the Wrexham squad itself. Transfermarkt does not have the full set of values for the players of Wrexham and so I have used their market value prediction at the time a player joined and have used some national and regional news outlets to piece together a squad value.
The overall squad value, with some players joining on free transfers or for undisclosed fees is around £2.5 million and this, of course, does not take into account the pulling power they have in terms of wages as many of their squad dropping from League One and Two could potentially suggest.
Wrexham Players:
Ollie Palmer
Ollie Palmer left League One AFC Wimbledon in January 2022 to sign for Wrexham for a fee of £300k, according to the BBC. Palmer wasn’t prolific in League One but had returned 27 goals across his previous two League Two seasons and has scored over 30 times for Wrexham in just over a calendar year.
Elliot Lee
Lee is the first, and most expensive, of those players whose estimated market value has been used. He was valued by Transfermarkt at around £600k at the time of his free transfer from Luton to the Welsh side and has had a career high value of just below £1 million.
Anthony Forde
Another estimated market value, this time at £300k when he moved on a free from Oxford. The 29-year-old right back was in the Championship with Rotherham in 2018-19 and is now hoping for a Football League return with the Welsh side.
Ben Tozer
Wrexham signed the then Cheltenham Town captain at the start of the 2021-22 season, attracting him to the National League from League One on a three-year deal. At the time, Gloucestershire Live claimed the fee was £200k and the central defender has been an almost ever present for his side since.
These players are joined by the like of Aaron Hayden who left Carlisle United at the time the fee was rumour to be six figures, Andy Cannon who joined from Championship side Hull City and the recent signing of Billy Waters in adding to the market value of the squad. That is without including top scorer Paul Mullin who, despite joining on a free, has had rumours of his wages circulating since he left Cambridge United.
League Two
A very quick jump into League Two sees, according to Transfermarkt, sees Grimsby Town and Salford City bookending the division in terms of squad value. Grimsby Town’s squad value is £1.4 million, with their most valuable player being Bryn Morris at £250k whilst Salford’s squad is valued at an impressive £9.4 million with their most valued asset is England Under 20 winger Luke Bolton who makes up £2 million of the total value. The average squad value for the division is over £3.5 million.
League One
Into League One then, where there are some big names of English football currently battling it out with the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Ipswich Town vying for promotion. If Wrexham have designs on travelling through the leagues, they will have to step up to the challenge of this division.
In League One, there are no fewer than 6 teams with a squad value of over £10 million and the divisional average is a whopping £9.4 million, meaning the average for this division is as much as the highest of the previous and close to £6 million more than the League Two average.
Derby County
Derby are the side with the highest squad value in the league with a massive £23 million combined, with Josh Knight being valued at £5 million on his own. Including Knight, The Rams have 7 players worth a million or more and a midfield with a combined value of over £15 million!
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton come next on the list with a squad value of £16.83 million, although all of their players of £1 million plus are currently on loan to them from higher up the football pyramid. These include Manchester United’s Shola Shoretire (£4 million), Manchester City duo Luke Mbete (£2 million) and James Trafford (£1 million) and Liverpool right back Connor Bradley (£1 million).
Cheltenham Town
At the other end of the squad value league table are The Robins who can’t get off the ground at a total of £5.15 million, with the highest valued individuals being Liam Sercombe and Luke Southwood at £500k each (there is no value for the much sought after Alfie May!).
Accrington Stanley
Just ahead of Cheltenham with a value of £5.5 million are Accrington Stanley, with their Everton loanee Ryan Atlee leading the way individually at £600k and their own Ethan Hamilton not far behind at half a million.
Writer’s View
There are huge gaps in the finances of teams at the top and bottom of League One so the difference between the likes of Derby County and the National League is astronomical. However, I don’t think many people believe that it matters what Wrexham are spending now as they have the financial ability to spend more and more when required. I am not suggesting that they will have a £25 million squad in two years but they already have owners with deep pockets, the good times will continue to bring the crowds back and the owners are exploring revenue streams otherwise unavailable to clubs at the lower levels so they will have the money to spend to improve their squad should they move up the leagues as they hope.
