Ryan Reynolds won't want Wrexham signing to replicate fans incident he had to apologise for

Wrexham will be hoping Josh Windass has learned from past mistakes after signing the ex-Sheffield Wednesday star on a free transfer ahead of their Championship campaign

Wrexham secured a big coup this week by signing former Sheffield Wednesday man Josh Windass. The attacking midfielder boasts some impressive numbers after scoring 53 goals for the Owls in 182 appearances.

The Welsh side didn't even have to fork out a single penny on a transfer fee for the 31-year-old after he left Hillsborough last week by mutual agreement following issues with delayed wage payments. Wrexham have had a busy summer transfer window following their promotion to the Championship at the end of last season, with manager Phil Parkinson bringing in five new players so far.

The arrival of Windass will have come as music to the ears of the club's Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. However, his career has not been without controversy and the two actors will be hoping he doesn't show their team in a bad light by repeating past mistakes.

One notable incident occurred while was playing for Scottish giants Rangers in February 2018. Windass was forced to apologise after a controversial goal celebration during a 2-0 win over Partick Thistle.

Then aged 24, he infuriated his own supporters by putting a finger to his lips in front of them after scoring the opening goal. Windass later said sorry to the Rangers faithful after seemingly getting frustrated by criticism of his performances from some sections of the fanbase.

Speaking at the time, Windass told Sky Sports News: "There was no real reason or malice in the celebration, it was just a bit of instinct after I'd scored. It was just a little bit of frustration.

"It was nothing to do with social media, it was just how I was playing in the game up to that point, I was a bit frustrated. I've just reacted in maybe the wrong way, but it's what happens sometimes in football. You just go for emotion."

He added: "I'd forgot about it straight away, it's just other people bringing it up to me, I'll just let them talk about it and I'll just concentrate on myself."

His outspoken nature landed him in hot water as recently as May this year. It came after Windass levelled scathing criticism towards a former Wednesday youth team player.

He labelled defender Joey Phuthi 'p**h' after claiming the 20-year-old had compared himself to Lionel Messi. Windass made his remarks during a discussion about fitness and running stats on the Open Goal podcast.

"We've got a young lad called Joey - I think he's been released. He's p**h anyway," said Windass

"I was speaking to him in the canteen at football and one of our coaches said to me, 'have a word with Joey, he never runs more than 9k in a game ever'.

"So I was speaking to him and I was like, 'how much do you run in a game' and he said '9km - Messi don't run'. A kid at 17, I didn't say anything to him but I was thinking, 'you're the worst player ever and you're talking about Messi - run around."

Phuthi later described the criticism from Windass as 'disappointing' and claimed his comments were taken out of context. The full-back also said the row had made a tough period for him even harder.

Posting on X, he said: "Not being offered a new contract at Sheffield Wednesday has been difficult to process and the last thing I expected was to be dragged into something like this. For clarity, the conversation has been completely flipped out of context."

Windass is the son of former Premier League striker Dean Windass, who played for the likes of Hull, Middlesbrough and Bradford. His dad was diagnosed with dementia earlier this year, leading to an outpouring of support from the football community.

Josh joins Wrexham as they prepare to play in the Championship for the first time in 43 years next season. The Red Dragons have been handed a tough start as they face Southampton away in their opening fixture on August 9.