What Phil Parkinson said about Paul Mullin proves no player is safe at Wrexham this summer.
Wrexham have let Paul Mullin leave the club on loan. He’s not the first player to leave the club since the end of last season, and he may not be the last either.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, Wrexham released eight players. Among those were Steven Fletcher, who many fans think should’ve been kept on for the upcoming Championship campaign.
But Phil Parkinson and co had other ideas. They’ve set their bar higher, as they should with every promotion, with Wrexham signing Ryan Hardie on a permanent deal from Plymouth Argyle.
It’s a signing that works as a reminder to how far the club has come under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Paul Mullin’s exit does the same job, too: an absolute goal machine just a year ago, now Wrexham have sent Mullin on loan to Wigan Athletic.
Wigan were linked with Mullin for a few weeks before getting the deal over the line. Fans will certainly keep an eye on how he fares at his new club, so too Parkinson and Mullin’s Wrexham teammates.
READ MORE: Paul Mullin could return to Wrexham sooner than expected as key Wigan Athletic details are revealed
Paul Mullin during Wrexham AFC v Stevenage FC – Sky Bet League One
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What Phil Parkinson said about Paul Mullin after Wrexham won promotion
Wrexham won promotion after beating Charlton Athletic 3-0 at the Racecourse back in April. But Mullin didn’t feature, nor did he feature the final game of the season away at Lincoln City, much to the surprise of fans who thought Parkinson would give him a potentially final run-out for the club.
Mullin played just once for Wrexham after the end of January. That game was also the only time he featured in a matchday squad. Mullin was left confused by his Wrexham exile, but Parkinson insisted that Mullin and Ollie Palmer would be back for pre-season.
Though as the Wrexham players returned for the initial pre-season testing, Mullin had already secured his move to Wigan.
Parkinson said of Mullin and Palmer back in May: “Of course there’s always players who would have liked to have played more. Equally, contributions can come in many forms, so I’m delighted with everybody as a group. Mulls and Ollie will always be legends at this club for what they’ve done. They’re under contract next year and they’ll be back in pre-season ready to go again.”
READ MORE: Re-introducing Wrexham’s forgotten man who could save Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney millions next season
Phil Parkinson, manager of Wrexham during the Sky Bet League One match between Lincoln City FC and Wrexham
Photo by Andrew Vaughan/Getty Images
Nobody is safe at Wrexham this summer
Parkinson said Mullin wanted to leave Wrexham on loan this summer. But the 30-year-old arguably had no choice but to. Parkinson was expecting him to be at the club for this summer at least, and so the fact that Mullin has already left on loan proves that nobody is safe from the dreaded axe.
Palmer is expected to leave Wrexham this summer as well, having suffered a similar fate to Mullin last season. And depending on who the club brings in this summer, there could be other players who end up leaving.
Players who played key roles last season, are currently in Parkinson’s thinking, but then fall painfully down the pecking order once new signings arrive.
It’s definitely a side effect of such a rapid rise up the Football League. But Parkinson, for all the amazing things he’s done for the club, arguably didn’t handle the whole Mullin situation as well as he probably could’ve.
It may suggest that Parkinson has a bit of a ruthless streak and so players won’t count on their being in his first-team plans for next season. If they think they might be exiled at some point, they could push for a summer move.
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