Phil Parkinson said Wrexham have been forced to spend heavily to compete in the Championship after smashing their transfer record to sign Nathan Broadhead.
Wales striker Broadhead joined from Ipswich on Thursday in a reported deal worth up to £10 million ($13.56m), although Parkinson quipped Wrexham would have “to get in the Premier League and win the Champions League” for the fee to reach that figure.
Broadhead became Wrexham’s ninth summer signing for a campaign which sees them playing in the second tier of English football just three seasons after being in the National League.
“The backing [from owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney] is key,” manager Parkinson said ahead of West Brom’s visit to the SToK Cae Ras on Saturday — Wrexham’s first home game at this level since beating Rotherham 3-2 on May 15, 1982.
“There’s a lot of spending power in the division. Really since day one, because we’ve moved so quickly as a club, we’ve always had to work hard to fast-track the quality level to the first team.
“We’ve always been playing catch up, even in the National League we were behind a lot of clubs development-wise — the structure, academy, players coming through.
“We had to improve the standard and that filters down. The structure behind the first team has become stronger with the formation of the academy a couple of years ago.
“We’ve come into this division very quickly and it’s important we’ve brought in Championship standard players to help us on this journey. Also, to help the existing players who have do so well over the last few years.”
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The addition of Bangor-born Broadhead, who was in the Wrexham youth system before joining Everton at the age of 10, is the biggest statement yet the Red Dragons have made in the transfer market under their Hollywood owners.
The 27-year-old has won 14 Wales caps and made 18 Premier League appearances for Ipswich last term in a season disrupted by injuries.
Parkinson said: “We’ve been looking at Nathan throughout the summer.
“A fee had been agreed with Ipswich for quite a long time, but they wanted to bring a player in so we had to be patient.
“He’s got that Championship pedigree and the ability to create something in tight situations.
“You need players to unlock the door and create moments in games, and Nathan’s got that.
“The story of him coming back home is a great one as well. He was at a great club at Ipswich but he has shown a real desire to come and play for us.”
Wrexham lost their Championship opener at Southampton 2-1 last weekend, with two late Saints goals condemning them to painful defeat.
Summer signing Kieffer Moore was forced off with ankle ligament damage in the second half but Parkinson provided a positive fitness update on the Wales targetman, although no date has been given for his return.
He said: “Kieffer’s not as bad as we feared. With a ligament injury like that you always fear it’s going to be something worse.
“But it’s not a serious injury and he’s making great progress.”
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