‘We’ve Had to’—Phil Parkinson Responds to Wrexham Spending Criticism

The Red Dragons broke their transfer record three times to prepare for the EFL Championship.

Nathan Broadhead joined for a fee in excess of $10 million. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images/Wrexham AFC

Phil Parkinson has defended the level of spending on new players at Wrexham that prepared the squad for their first season back in the Championship, calling it all necessary.

The Red Dragons have been back in the second tier of English football for the first time in 43 years and have exceeded expectations with their highest-ever league finish. Wrexham are sixth in the table heading into the final day of the season and could secure a place in the playoff positions.

Wrexham have achieved unprecedented success with three successive promotions to reach the Championship, and Parkinson believes it is only natural that they have had to spend big to be competitive in the new division. The North Wales club broke its transfer record three times as part of a $45 million spending spree last summer, which saw 13 new players arrive.

Seven of those summer signings had featured for their respective nations at the international level, while six arrived with Premier League experience. It is that mixture of blend with stability that has spearheaded Wrexham’s charge up the division and helped put them in the playoff picture.

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Phil Parkinson Explains Wrexham Spending

Nathan Broadhead became Wrexham's record signing when he arrived from Ipswich Town in August 2025. | Molly Darlington/Getty Images

Wrexham made global headlines last summer when it was revealed they had a higher net spend than Barcelona, AC Milan, and Borussia Dortmund. They also had a higher net spend than eight Premier League clubs, including both Chelsea and Aston Villa, though every team in the English top flight ultimately outspent them in terms of incoming players alone.

The Red Dragons also had the highest net spend across all 24 Championship clubs and were the third-highest spenders in the division, behind only Southampton and Ipswich Town.

Wrexham were still in the National League as recently as 2023, and Parkinson believes their spree has been necessary to bring their squad up to the standard required.

Player	Transfer Fee	Club
Nathan Broadhead	$10.14m	Ipswich Town
Ben Sheaf	$8.78m	Coventry City
Callum Doyle	$6.76m	Manchester City
Lewis O'Brien	$6.76m	Nottingham Forest
Dom Hyam	$3.65m	Blackburn Rovers
Liberato Cacace	$2.97m	Empoli
Conor Coady	$2.7m	Leicester City
Kieffer Moore	$2.7m	Sheffield United
George Thomason	$1.62m	Bolton Wanderers
Ryan Hardie	$945,000	Plymouth Argyle
Danny Ward	Free	Leicester City
Josh Windass	Free	Sheffield Wednesday
Issa Kabore	Loan	Manchester City

“I think my answer to that question about spending money is that we’re competing against teams like Stoke City, who have been building squads for the last 10 years in this division. They’ve got an infrastructure, category one academies that are producing their own players,” he said.

“So, in each division, when we’ve spent money, we’ve had to because we’ve had to fast-track the quality level at the top end. So, you know, you spread the money we’ve spent over a five-year period or a six-year period. Other teams have been trying to get into the playoffs of this division. I think you’ll see it’s fair that we needed to do that because you’ve got to have Championship-quality players in your squad at this level. And it’s an obvious thing to say. But those players aren’t cheap.

“Now, obviously, we’re going into the summer competing against clubs who’ve got a stock of Championship—and, in other teams, some Premier League standard—players, and we had to quickly evolve this squad to that.”

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