Wrexham decision that cost Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac £10million 17 years later

A crunch decision that saw Nathan Broadhead quit Wrexham's academy at the age of ten has cost the club up to £10million around 17 years later. The Wales international became the club's ninth summer signing last week after joining from Ipswich Town in a deal reportedly worth an initial £7.5m, but rising further with add-ons.

The 27-year-old forward was thrown into action almost immediately on Saturday as Wrexham suffered a 3-2 home defeat against West Bromwich Albion. Despite starting on the bench, Broadhead entered the fray in the first half after fellow new boy Josh Windass suffered a hamstring injury.

He almost opened his account just after half-time with the scores still level at 1-1, but fired wide when well placed to score. Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac were at the Racecourse Ground to catch a glimpse of their club-record purchase, with Reynolds admitting to feeling nervous about meeting Broadhead before the match.

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However, it would have saved the two actors a lot of money had he not chosen to leave the club's youth set-up to join Everton. Broadhead has previously opened up about how it was actually his parents who pushed him to make the move to the Premier League side, even though he wanted to stay at Wrexham, who were then stuck in the National League.

Speaking to Ipswich fanzine Those Were The Days, he said: "I was only ten at the time and I didn't really want to go because I was settled at Wrexham, but my mum and dad forced me to do it. They were right, of course, and I'm very grateful to them. It's thanks to them that it helped me as a person and not just as a footballer."

While Broadhead's decision to leave Wrexham as a youngster may have proved costly, it clearly helped his development and the club was in no position at the time to prevent him leaving. Likewise, the Welsh side are hardly short of cash these days thanks to the financial might of the Hollywood owners.

Broadhead became a first-year scholar at Everton in June 2014 and made his first-team debut in December 2017, coming on as a late substitute in a Europa League clash against Cypriot side Apollon Limassol. He later spent time out on loan in the EFL with the likes of Burton Albion, Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, before joining Ipswich in January 2023 for a fee of £1.5m.

He played a crucial part in the Tractor Boys' back-to-back promotions from League One in 2023 and the Championship in 2024. However, Broadhead was restricted to just seven Premier League starts last season as his team was relegated back down to the second tier.

He netted 23 times in 83 appearances for Ipswich in total before moving back to Wrexham, who recently embarked on their first campaign at that level for 43 years. The Red Dragons have spent big this summer as manager Phil Parkinson looks to build a squad capable of competing at the next level after leading the club to a third consecutive promotion in April.

Parkinson addressed speculation over Wrexham's outlay on Broadhead in a press conference held ahead of Saturday's game against West Brom. The former Bolton boss insisted they achieved value for money, despite the player being in the final year of his contract at Portman Road.

"The fee has been out there at £10m but I think we have to get to the Premier League and win the Champions League to get to that," Parkinson toldBBC Sport Wales. "But it's a price for a player of real Championship quality.

"The fee with Ipswich had been agreed a for a long time, obviously they wanted to sign a player so we had to be patient. But they've been fair and both parties are happy with the deal."

Wrexham's pursuit of Broadhead was a protracted affair, starting early in the summer. While a fee between the two clubs was eventually agreed, Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna would not sanction the move until he had sufficient squad depth to compensate for the player's departure.

The deal was finally confirmed on Thursday as McKenna admitted he didn't want Broadhead to leave. He spoke after some fans expressed their disappointment regarding his exit.

"He's a player that we would like to have had here this year, there's no doubt about it," McKenna told the East Anglian Times. "He's a high-quality player, someone who's had a really good experience with us over the last couple of years.

"Nathan made it clear from the early part of pre-season that he'd had an offer from a club (Wrexham) and it was an incredible contract offer really for his personal situation. I fully understand his desire to take the opportunity.

"It's a club, of course, close to home that he has an affinity to. I understand all aspects of that. From his point of view, it was a transfer that he wanted to happen. He made that clear right the way through pre-season. In the end, it was a difficult situation to go in another direction."

Wrexham have experienced a tough start to life in the Championship after defeats in their opening two games against Southampton and West Brom. However, they will be hoping that signings like Broadhead can help them bridge the gap after making the step up from League One, starting with Saturday's home game against troubled Sheffield Wednesday.

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