"One of our star players" - Wrexham AFC lauded for making Ryan Barnett transfer decision | OneFootball

FLW's Wrexham fan pundit has identified which player that arrived to little fanfare has gone on to exceed expectations

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 overseen a lot of changes to their first team squad in the last few years as they’ve levelled up in English football.

Phil Parkinson’s side have earned back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One, which has led to improvements being made to match each division they’d climbed to.

It has been a rapid rise for the Welsh outfit since they were taken over by Hollywood duo Rob McElhenny and Ryan Reynolds, with the team now competing in the third tier for the first time since 2005.

Wrexham will be aiming to gain promotion to the Championship soon, with the side currently in the mix for a top six place in these early stages of the current campaign.

They will need key players to step up and perform at their best this year if they are to earn an incredible third promotion in a row.

Ryan Barnett transfer claim

When asked which player arrived to little fanfare and performed above expectations, FLW’s Wrexham fan pundit Liam Grice suggested Ryan Barnett.

He revealed that there were some concerns over his suitability to the team when he arrived in 2023, but that he has since become a key figure in the squad.

“The main player that springs to mind is quite a recent signing, that’s Ryan Barnett,” Grice told Football League World.

“He’s deservedly getting his plaudits now, and is arguably one of the first names on the team sheet.

“When we signed him, we got him from non-league Solihull, we’d see that he was a creative player but lacked a little bit of end product.

“Of course we were excited, he was a new signing, but there was a bit of trepidation, and we weren’t really sure how he would fit into the system we already had.

“Anthony Forde who was playing in his position was playing really well, but once he got his chance in the team and really started consistently performing he’s become one of our star players, and that’s really good to see.”

Ryan Barnett’s importance to Wrexham

Barnett signed for Wrexham in February 2023, joining from Solihull Moors, and made 12 appearances in the National League as the team clinched top spot in the table (all stats from Fbref).

The 25-year-old made a further 32 appearances in League Two, contributing two goals and four assists, with Parkinson’s side securing automatic promotion with a second place finish.

The midfielder has even grown in importance in League One, starting in nine of their opening 10 games, registering four assists already in the campaign.

Up next for Wrexham is a trip to face Rotherham United on Saturday in a 3pm kick-off.

Barnett signing is proving itself as a real coup for Wrexham

Barnett played his role in both of Wrexham’s promotions, but has only really cemented himself as a key part of the team in League One.

He has gone from strength to strength, making a great start to the new campaign and has been key to their rise to second in the table.

This has proven a very smart signing by the club, and exemplifies the kind of recruitment that has led to their rise up the pyramid.

If he can continue performing at this level in the third tier, then Wrexham will stand a better chance of gaining promotion once again this year.