Reaction given to Nathan Broadhead, Wrexham AFC transfer - "We overpaid a little bit" but I'm still happy with Ipswich Town deal | OneFootball

Wrexham broke their club record transfer this summer with a £10m deal

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Wrexham have experienced mixed form upon their return to the second tier.

The Welsh outfit have enjoyed a strong upward trajectory over the past few years, recording consecutive promotions from the National League to the Championship.

That trend looks to have come to a sharp halt, however, with the Red Dragons already looking extremely unlikely to challenge for a place in the top-flight.

Phil Parkinson’s men have won just two of their opening nine league matches and sit 18th in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone.

Wrexham recruited extensively over the summer, as they looked to assemble a squad capable of competing in the Championship. Josh Windass, Callum Doyle, Lewis O'Brien, Conor Coady, Ryan Hardie and Kieffer Moore are to name just a few of their recruits.

Given the quality of these signings and the revenue outlay on them, the Welsh side would be expected to be fighting much higher up the table, which could begin to raise concerns over Parkinson’s long-term future as manager.

Wrexham’s most notable addition of the summer was Nathan Broadhead, who joined from Ipswich Town in a club-record deal that could be worth £10 million.

Nathan Broadhead backed to succeed at Wrexham

When Broadhead arrived at Wrexham, questions soon arose over how he would fit into Parkinson’s system, which traditionally operates with wing-backs.

The 27-year-old’s natural position is as an out-and-out winger, which doesn’t leave him an obvious position in the Red Dragons’ team.

Broadhead has started just one of Wrexham’s nine Championship games thus far, which could lead to concerns that the £10 million spent on his services perhaps wasn’t the wisest use of those funds.

However, Football League World’s Wrexham fan pundit, Liam Grice, believes that Broadhead will come good at the Racecourse Ground over time.

“When the signing was made, I didn't really think Broadhead fit into the system that we like to play,” stated Liam. “He's more of a winger who likes to come deep and receive the ball, whereas we don't really play with wingers. We're more of a wing-back team.

“But I think he's shown glimpses of quality when he has come off the bench, especially against Leicester City. But I don't think that's been enough to justify the £10 million price tag just yet.

“I think once he gets a bit more confidence in himself and gets used to the way Parkinson wants him to play, he'll definitely become a better player.

“Is he going to be worth the £10 million? I don't think so. I do think we overpaid a little bit for him, but that's just something we've got to deal with. So, I'm happy with the transfer.”

Phil Parkinson may have to consider change of system to include Nathan Broadhead

Given how much money Wrexham spent on Broadhead, it is far from ideal that he is spending a large majority of his time on the bench.

Managers are often very reluctant to change their systems just for one player, but if Parkinson wasn’t planning on doing this, why did he buy the winger?

Given the level of quality in Wrexham’s squad, they should be fighting much higher up the table, which means that a change of tactical style might not be a bad thing.

Including Broadhead in the team could also help get the best out of other players such as Moore and Windass, who would feed off his service from out wide.

If not, the £10 million spent on the Welshman could become an extremely awkward topic of discussion for the higher-ups at Wrexham.