Exclusive: David Prutton drops claim on why Paul Mullin could leave Wrexham AFC | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton spoke exclusively to Football League World about Paul Mullin's Wrexham future following promotion to the Championship

Wrexham AFC have made history by securing successive promotions from the National League all the way up to the Championship after officially sealing second-place in the 2024/25 League One campaign with one match to spare over the weekend.

The Red Dragons' rampant 3-0 victory over fellow automatic promotion hopefuls Charlton Athletic on Saturday evening ensued bedlam at the Stok Cae Ras, as Phil Parkinson's side booked their ticket in the Championship next season alongside Birmingham City.

Their promotion has ended a 43-year exile from English football's second-tier, and the only way is up as Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's ambitious project at the helm approaches its new dawn and most significant test to date.

The truth is that work must be undertaken on Parkinson's playing squad if Wrexham are to be competitive in the Championship next season. Considering the club's proven, well-documented ambition and financial muscle in equal measure, one will likely envisage a host of high-profile arrivals in North Wales over the coming weeks and months ahead of what surely promises to be an exciting summer transfer window.

However, Wrexham's promotion has cast fresh doubt over the future of Paul Mullin. Very much the poster boy of the Red Dragons' rapid ascent through the divisions, Mullin plundered home 32, 47 and 26 goals in each of his first three campaigns with the club after joining from Cambridge United as they moved up two tiers.

His impact has been legendary, in the context of Wrexham's recent history, but it hasn't translated to League One.

The striker has made 26 appearances and just nine starts in league action this term, returning a much more meager return of three goals, and he has not even featured in a matchday squad since representing an unused substitute in Wrexham's 2-1 victory at Mansfield Town on February 23.

Wrexham executive Humphrey Ker has insisted that Mullin still has a "big future" with the Welsh side, but considering the acceleration of their trajectory, promotion to the Championship, limited minutes in League One as part of a side already finely-stocked in the striking department and the club's ambitiously-bankrolled transfer strategy, an exit appears perfectly plausible this summer.

David Prutton drops claim on potential Paul Mullin, Wrexham AFC transfer exit

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert David Prutton believes that Wrexham's financial capability could see them seek out a more Championship-proven, high-profile acquisition to lead the line ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Jamie Vardy, who will be leaving Leicester City after 13 years of iconic service once his contract expires at the end of the summer, has been linked with a move to Wrexham in recent times, although the former Premier League winner is reportedly intent on remaining in the top-flight.

"As we saw when he first joined the club, dropping out of the EFL, he took a real chance and a gamble," Prutton told FLW.

"Yes, you would say it was a well-paid gamble, but he's delivered the goals that have given the foundations of a side that has gotten itself into the Championship, which is a glorious thing to see.

"There would be an element of sentiment there, I don't think he would be used sentimentally. I think he's a player that is proven to be a very decent part of this Wrexham side.

"However, the Championship, as we know, is brutal. Wrexham, potentially, given their financial foundations, may want to think that - and this is casting no shade on Paul Mullin - they maybe want to look at someone more established from a Championship point of view, or someone dropping down from the Premier League.

"Undoubtedly, the story that's been created around them will make them a very, very attractive proposition for many players.

Paul Mullin in the Championship with Wrexham AFC could be a footballing fairytale

While it's easy to see why Mullin could leave Wrexham, or at least find himself increasingly surplus to requirements, there could well be sentimentalism on both sides.

It would be the perfect script for Mullin, who has played an iconic role in Wrexham's story, to represent the Red Dragons in the Championship. His service to the club means he is arguably deserving of such an opportunity, and, in Prutton's view, it would be "glorious" to see this happen from a "footballing romance" perspective.

Wrexham's definitive stance on Mullin's future, it must be stressed, is not clear at the time of writing and it appears to hang very much in the balance, but supporters would surely love to see him take to the pitch in the Championship after playing such an instrumental role in the club's trajectory.

"It would be a nice circular moment with the club to see him turn out in the red of Wrexham in the Championship, time will tell," Prutton continued.

"Phil Parkinson will build and utilise his squad how he sees fit because, fundamentally, players keep managers in jobs and all managers know that.

"He'll be picking the best team week-on-week, so that remains to be seen how he chooses that. From a footballing romance point of view, to see him turn out for them would be a glorious thing."