Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee both left Wrexham in the summer of 2026, closing the chapter on two of Phil Parkinson’s defining signings at the Cae Ras. Their exits coincided with seven senior arrivals for another Championship campaign, underlining just how much Parkinson’s squad has changed.
Mullin joined from Cambridge United in July 2021, shortly after Parkinson took charge, and Lee arrived from Luton Town a year later. Between them came 151 Wrexham goals and three consecutive promotions.
Neither departure diminishes what they achieved. In some ways, losing two players of such standing tells its own story about the relentless pace of Wrexham’s progress.
Mullin and Lee became defining Parkinson signings
Wrexham were still in the National League when Mullin signed despite the striker having just scored 32 league goals for Cambridge United. It was some coup, and he repaid that faith emphatically.
By the time Mullin left Wrexham, he had struck 110 goals in 172 first-team appearances. Lee, another player persuaded to drop out of the EFL, departed with 41 goals from 152 games.
The pair gave Parkinson different weapons. Mullin brought relentless goal-scoring instincts, while Lee’s clever movement and inventive play regularly opened games from midfield.
Wrexham’s rise eventually changed the equation
Three promotions meant three jumps in standard, and Parkinson could never stand still. Mullin’s minutes dropped sharply amid injury problems in League One, while increased competition gradually changed Lee’s place in the side too.
By Wrexham’s first Championship campaign, neither featured in the league for the club and both spent time away on loan. Their permanent departures this summer confirmed a transition that had already begun on the pitch.
Parkinson recognised that when Lee left, explaining that the midfielder wanted to go and get regular minutes. His assessment of Mullin was just as emphatic, saying the striker’s part in Wrexham’s story could not be underestimated.
Seven new arrivals show what Parkinson needs now
The latest window brought Anthony Patterson, Ben Whiteman, Joe Worrall, Callum O’Hare, Danny Imray, Jacques EkomiĂ© and Issa KaborĂ©. The profile is telling, with Wrexham recruiting for their second Championship season rather than another lower-league promotion push.
Whiteman brings extensive experience at this level, Worrall has played Premier League football and Kaboré returned permanently following his loan spell. The challenge facing Parkinson bears little resemblance to the one he inherited in 2021.
There is inevitably a ruthless edge to that progression. Sentiment cannot pick a Championship squad, even when the players involved have three promotions and permanent places in Wrexham history.
Mullin and Lee helped Parkinson build the side that climbed the pyramid. Their departures show just how much the manager’s job, and Wrexham itself, has changed.
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