Paul Mullin has officially completed a loan move to League One side Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan from Wrexham.
The 30-year-old departs the Racecourse after four years, where he has become a household name, becoming the seventh-highest scorer in Wrexham’s history at a time when Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have taken the club to three consecutive promotions.
However, following the Red Dragons’ promotion to the second tier, it seems the club have different plans at the striker position, seeing Mullin as surplus to requirements, hoping a loan spell in the third tier can revitalise his career after a difficult, injury-riddled season.
Mullin becomes Wigan’s third signing of the window, following Christian Saydee and Fraster Murray, on moving to the Brick Community Stadium.
What Went Wrong Last Season For Mullin?
After three seasons where he finished as Wrexham’s top scorer, the Englishman scored just three goals in 26 League One appearances last season, his games limited through injury and competition at the striker position. After surgery on a back problem, Mullin started just nine games, coming off the bench 17 times.
Considering Phil Parkinson often uses a one-striker position, the club had a ridiculous eight strikers under contract, with Sam Dalby on loan at Dundee United, with the likes of Jay Rodriguez, Steven Fletcher, Ollie Palmer and Sam Smith, who they splashed a seven-figure fee on, all strikers who were ahead of Mullin in the pecking order.
Despite a poor season, Ryan Lowe and Wigan feel the 30-year-old can be useful in a Latics side that were the lowest scorers in the third tier last season.
Wigan’s Goalscoring Woes
It was clear the position Wigan needed to improve this window, scoring just 40 goals in 46 games last season.
All three top scorers have departed the Brick Community Stadium, Dale Taylor and Joe Hugill, loanees, whilst Theo Aasgaard moved to Luton Town in the winter window.
The club have already made two good signings to try and combat their lack of goalscorers, Saydee signing from Championship side Portsmouth and Murray signing from Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock.
However, a fully fit Mullin is an impressively good signing, considering his wages won’t be cheap, but Wigan will be hoping he’ll be worth every penny. With a goalscoring record that he holds, if he can replicate the numbers he has in previous seasons, he’ll be worth the money and single-handedly solve the Latics goal-scoring issues.
High Praise From Ryan Lowe
Lowe wasn’t shy about shouting Mullin’s praises, and speaking to the club website, said:
“I am delighted that we’ve managed to sign Paul. He’ll be a great addition to the group and is a player who is a proven goal scorer in the EFL.“He has won promotion in his last three seasons with Wrexham AFC and will add firepower, know-how and experience to the group, which is really important. Paul Mullin is the type of character we want in the dressing room, and his experience will help support the team on and off the pitch.”
Writer’s View
Although Mullin is disliked by many, there’s no ignoring his impressive record in front of goal. However, through no fault of his own, he didn’t get the game time he would’ve wanted, through both injury and competition for places.
The fact that this move is only a loan move suggests that his time at Wrexham might not be up, depending on his year in the third tier. This is a move that makes perfect sense for all parties. Mullin gets guaranteed game time, whilst Wrexham will want him off the wage bill, and Wigan need to improve their goalscoring record.
