A £2m signing by Wrexham has been branded one of the worst deals of the summer after the ex-Premier League star suffered a rocky start to life at the Racecourse Ground
Wrexham's signing of former England star Conor Coady has been blasted as one of the worst deals of the summer. The Red Dragons swooped to buy the ex-Wolves defender from Leicester for a fee of £2million in August.
The 32-year-old's arrival on a two-year deal was seen in some quarters as a statement of intent by the newly-promoted Championship side, who are owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac. It's not hard to see why given Coady has racked up almost 200 Premier League appearances during his career and was part of the England squad for Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
The early signs were promising as the centre-back started in each of Wrexham's first five league matches this season. However, he was dropped following a shaky performance in the club's 3-1 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers in mid-September and hasn't featured since.
The move to bring Coady to North Wales has now been labelled as one of the worst of the summer by one football agent. It follows a survey of 20 player representatives being conducted by The Athletic, who asked them to rate this summer's transfer activity.
Coady's switch was one of only two involving Championship clubs to feature on the list of the poorest deals, with Omari Hutchinson's £37.5m move away from Ipswich to Nottingham Forest also flagged. The rest was dominated by Premier League business as Benjamin Sesko's £74m transfer from RB Leipzig to Manchester United gathered the most votes with seven, while James Trafford's £27m switch from Burnley to Manchester City received three votes.
Wrexham spent approximately £33m on new players in the summer after achieving their third consecutive promotion. The Red Dragons only recouped a nominal amount through outgoings, making their net spend higher than European giants like Barcelona, Valencia and AC Milan.
Coady's rocky start at Wrexham comes after he was criticised by some Leicester fans for his form last season as the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League. Others bemoaned the amount of time he spent doing media work, claiming he appeared on the radio and TV more often than he did on the pitch.
The defender has featured as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Sports on several occasions since joining Wrexham. However, being media savvy isn't necessarily a bad thing at a club which has been transformed into a global brand thanks to the success of the Disney+ docuseries Welcome to Wrexham.
Coady still has plenty of time to prove his doubters wrong and he has also been helping in other ways at Wrexham. Manager Phil Parkinson revealed how Coady's understanding of his old club Leicester proved handy for coaching staff ahead of their 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium at the end of last month.
"His knowledge about Leicester was very helpful for us," Parkinson said. "We had Conor come in with us and the analysts and he was talking through the individuals. As a staff, we've watched a lot of the players...but having that extra insight as well was invaluable for us."