‘Couldn't afford him' - Why Paul Mullin left Wrexham on loan as Wigan fended off interest from ‘a lot of other clubs' to land Red Dragons legend
With a history-making run of three successive promotions helping Mullin to become a club legend in North Wales, a new challenge is being taken on in 2025 after slipping down the pecking order under Phil Parkinson.
Advertisement
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are among those to have wished Mullin well as he steps back into League One and attempts to earn fan favourite status at a new club. There are still two years left to run on the 30-year-old striker's contract at SToK Racecourse.
WHAT LOWE SAID
Quizzed on why the Latics did not part with a fee for Mullin, Lowe told Wigan Today: 'We couldn't afford him! Listen, I don't know what else to say...the simple fact is we couldn't afford a permanent deal.
'I spoke to Mulls at the back end of last season, we were given permission from Wrexham, to see whether he would be available on a loan. Although he only lives about three miles away from me, I didn't actually know him, but he's always been on my radar. I tried to take him to Plymouth when I was down there, because he's not only a fantastic footballer, he's also a fantastic lad.
Advertisement
'He actually said to his agent he didn't want to go anywhere else if he was leaving Wrexham, he only wanted to come here, which reflects well not just on me but also the football club. There were a lot of other clubs who would have loved to have signed him, and it's great that he's seen the project here and wants to be a part of it.'
DID YOU KNOW?
Lowe added on adding Mullin's many qualities to his ranks: 'One of the attributes Paul would bring, as well as on the pitch, is off the pitch as a leader, and he's showed that already. Paul is 30 years of age but he looks like a 21-year-old in terms of his body and his condition. And he's definitely got a big part to play on and off the pitch.'
Paul Mullin Wrexham 2024-25
WHAT NEXT FOR MULLIN?
Mullin was one of the first marquee transfers completed by Reynolds and McElhenney following their stunning takeover at Wrexham in 2021. Severing ties with the Red Dragons was a tough call, but the Merseyside native has been able to remain in the North West of England with his young family.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
27 minutes ago
- New York Times
Independent English football regulator given green light by MPs
The bill to introduce English football's first independent regulator was approved in the House of Commons on Tuesday by a majority of 415 votes in favour to 98 against, making its passage into law this summer a formality. In a lively third reading of the bill, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy and sports minister Stephanie Peacock said football fans had waited long enough for a government to protect clubs from rogue owners. They also poked fun at the opposition benches for the Conservative Party's U-turn on independent regulation, despite their active support for the idea when they were in government, and pointed out that politicians from all parties had been talking about this for more than a decade. Advertisement 'We are doing this for you, the best fans in the world,' Nandy told a well-attended debate. 'For too long you've been treated as an afterthought, at best, and a nuisance, at worst, in a game that's only great because of you.' She then said the bill was for the supporters of clubs that have either gone bust, such as Bury and Macclesfield, or have got very close to the precipice, such as Wigan, Bolton, Derby, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe, the National League side that faces a very uncertain future as a proposed takeover is being held up by their current owner. While the vote was another resounding victory for the government on this bill's passage through parliament, the shadow sports minister Louie French did not go down without swinging. The Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup repeatedly accused the government of risking English football's financial health by 'replacing the risk of irresponsible owners with reckless political interference', saying the regulator would tie clubs up in red tape and had too much power. French also clashed with Nandy over his claim that the government's choice to chair the independent regulatory, veteran media executive and Labour Party donor David Kogan, was a 'government crony'. Nandy hit back hard at this line of attack, noting that Kogan's name was on a long list of candidates she inherited from the last Conservative government, which included a Conservative Party donor, and that Kogan had been appointed to chair public broadcaster Channel 4 by the Conservatives. But she was warned by the speaker of the house for suggesting that French was displaying 'staggering hypocrisy', as that would be 'unparliamentary language'. French, however, did attempt to add an amendment to the bill that would have ended the ban on fans being allowed to drink alcohol within sight of the pitch in the top five tiers of men's football in England. The amendment was defeated by 178 votes in support to 338 against. Advertisement The government's stance on this idea is more nuanced than the vote would suggest, however. In fact, the last government approved a pilot scheme to test if alcohol could be made as available at football games as it is at cricket, rugby and all other sports, as well music events held at football stadiums. Those pilots did not happen, though, and the Labour government is keen to push on with them. The Liberal Democrats also proposed an amendment to the bill that would have seen 10 Premier League games a season ring-fenced for broadcast on free-to-air channels, plus the League Cup final and all of the EFL's play-off finals. While this idea would undoubtedly be a crowd-pleaser, it would also almost certainly scupper English football's business model, which is highly dependent on the large fees it receives from the likes of Sky Sports and TNT Sports in return for exclusive live rights. It is also hard to think of a better example of the type of government interference that the bill's critics, most notably the Premier League, have been warning against. As a result, the government did not support the Liberal Democrat idea and it was defeated by 340 votes to 86. The bill, without these two defeated amendments, now goes back to the House of Lords for its consent to the small number of changes the House of Commons did make to the original draft, which should be quickly nodded through, leaving only the final formality of royal assent before it becomes law. After such a smooth passage through parliament, the government is confident this will happen before Westminster's summer recess, which starts 22 July.
Washington Post
30 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Euro 2025: Sweden eases past Poland and advances to quarterfinals along with Germany
LUCERNE, Switzerland — Sweden advanced to the quarterfinals at the Women's European Championship by beating Poland 3-0 on Tuesday, a result that also sent Germany through to the knockout rounds from their group. A hat trick of headed goals by three different players was fair reward for relentless attacking down Sweden's right flank that left the overmatched Poland defense exposed.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wimbledon 2025 Historic Moment Draws Gasps at Centre Court
Wimbledon 2025 Historic Moment Draws Gasps at Centre Court originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Move over F1, because tennis is stepping on the gas. Fans flock to Wimbledon every year to witness the world's best tennis players battle it out at the oldest tennis championship in the world and speed is on full display this year. Advertisement The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club's iconic grass courts provide a faster playing surface which tends to shorten rallies and favors speed off the first serve. While the average first serve in men's professional tennis is around 120 mph, it's not uncommon to see players hit occasional serves in the 130 and even 140 mph range during tournament play. Seeing a serve in the 150s? Almost never, which is why the crowd had an audible reaction to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's record breaking serve during his first round match against Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon on Monday. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (FRA) serves against Taylor Fritz (USA)(not pictured) on day one of The Championships, Wimbledon 2025Geoff Burke-Imagn Images In the video posted on Wimbledon's X account, Perricard is just three points into the first set when he serves an absolute bullet, clocking a mind-blowing 153 mph. Advertisement Audible gasps can be heard from the crowd immediately following the serve which Fritz, 27, amazingly gets his racket on and lets Newton's Third Law of Motion take it from there. At 153 miles per hour, Perricard's serve set a new Wimbledon serve speed record, breaking Taylor Dent's previously held record of 148 mph at the event in 2010. The record breaking serve by Perricard, 21, is emblematic of a trend among the younger cohort of tennis players bringing immense power and speed to the game. Ben Shelton, 22, turned heads during his U.S. Open debut in 2023 where he hit the fastest serve of the tournament at 149 mph. Perricard lost the point during his record breaking serve. After four sets, the match was suspended due to Wimbledon's 11 p.m. curfew. Play resumed the next day, and Fritz ultimately won in five sets. Related: Justin Thomas Drops New Collab with 5-Word Warning on Label This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
