Wrexham Promotion Hero Completes Deadline Day Exit, Makes Way for New Signing

The Red Dragons are making moves with the intent to secure a record-fourth consecutive promotion.

Phil Parkinson is losing another familiar face. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Wrexham confirmed fan favourite Elliot Lee completed a loan move to Doncaster Rovers until the end of the 2025–26 season.

Despite only becoming official on Deadline Day, the transfer does not come as a surprise. Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson previously revealed Lee’s desire to leave the STōK Cae Ras during the winter window, a decision the English boss said he and the club would “respect.”

Two weeks after the statement, Lee indeed fulfilled his quest to finish out the season elsewhere. The midfielder is set to join Grant McCann’s squad, currently 22nd in the EFL League One standings.

Doncaster will hope the new signing can help them fend off relegation, given they are only two points off of 16th place. Lee’s experience and previous success playing in the third-tier should elevate the floundering squad in their bid to remain in League One for the 2026–27 season.

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Wrexham Bid Farewell to Another Cult Hero

Elliot Lee failed to log a single minute in the Championship this season. | James Baylis/AMA/Getty Images

Lee is leaving North Wales after 152 appearances and 41 goals in a red shirt. The Englishman joined Wrexham as a free agent ahead of the 2022–23 season and went on to help the Red Dragons secure back-to-back-to-back promotions.

The departure is just the latest move for a player who helped Wrexham in their journey to the Championship. The club already parted ways with Paul Mullin and Steven Fletcher, as well as former captain James McClean.

The club’s final message for Lee was a short goodbye: “All at the Football Club would like to wish Elliot and the Rovers all the best for the remainder of the season.”

The first half of Lee’s 2025–26 campaign was marred by injury and a lack of playing time. The 31-year-old only made three appearances to kick off the season, overlooked in favour of new signings Nathan Broadhead and Josh Windass. Then, he suffered a long-term knee injury that required surgery in November, keeping him sidelined until the new year.

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Hard Goodbyes Pave the Way for Wrexham’s Future

A very good morning, Reds 👋

🔴⚪ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/LgXzspCwZj

— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) February 2, 2026

It’s never easy to see a wealth of fan favourites leave, but Wrexham’s dreams of playing in the Premier League required new faces in the dressing room, ones with Championship playing experience.

The club signed 13 new players this summer, a gamble that has finally begun to pay off. After a slow start to 2025–26, the Red Dragons now sit sixth in the table with 47 points through 30 games, putting them firmly in the playoff race.

The Welsh outfit is still doing whatever it can to bolster its squad before the January transfer window shuts. On Sunday, Wrexham confirmed the signing of versatile defender Zak Vyner from Bristol City on a contract through the 2028–29 season.

The 28-year-old has made over 250 appearances in England’s second tier throughout his career and knows what it takes to make a run to the Championship playoffs, a feat he accomplished with Bristol last season.

“I’m over the moon. I think Wrexham’s ambition and the project that is already well underway—the back-to-back-to-back promotions—is something you can’t help but admire from afar and now I’m involved I can’t wait to help out,” Vyner said.

The new signing joins Parkinson’s new look squad eager to help the team secure four consecutive promotions, a feat never before accomplished in England’s top five football divisions.

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