Wrexham fans are visibly furious with a rumour surrounding the Reds with an ex-Real Madrid striker during the January transfer window.
Success has a price and that’s true for all walks of life. In football, being an overachieving team is a headache on it’s own despite the plethora of advantages that come with it.
Here, Wrexham fits the bill as a perfect example of being a victim of it’s own success, at times. Although the Red Dragons have rarely had to prevent their best players from getting lured away for blockbuster transfer moves, they have stayed on the receiving end of some bizarre transfer links.
Some of the speculations don’t even make sense how they can come true, and that’s not a disrespect to Wrexham. Very recently, the Reds were urged to tempt Spain’s legendary centre-back Sergio Ramos on a free transfer.
Let’s be very honest, how many of us think a player of Ramos stature would be willing to claw down all the way to the Championship? When such legends could become top-tier coaches for big European teams, mentors or even respected pundits in the near future.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez to Wrexham links on a free transfer
Following Ramos, now the rumour mill has baked another transfer rumour for Wrexham involving Ramos former teammate and ex-Real Madrid striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
In their own words, the WrexhamAFC_ES fanpage noted on X(formerly Twitter): “Javier “Chicharito” Hernández is once again being linked with England and the name of Wrexham AFC is coming up in the conversation.”
The first thoughts that come to mind is Hernandez being a shrewd free transfer option. Needless to say, the 37 year old has played enough high level football for some of the game’s biggest giants like Manchester United and Real Madrid in his career that speak volumes of how good he can turn up for Wrexham on his day.
Wrexham fans furious with Chicharito rumours
But wait, the Javier Hernandez in question won’t necessarily be the same player as he was in his prime. Often, superstar players tend to slow down from the age of 30 once they are over their peak fitness levels.
One Wrexham fan also raised the same point saying: “His best soccer was more than 4 or 5 years ago.” Throwing that 4-5 year claim is a bit exaggerated, tho.
In the past 5 years, Chicharito has stayed at arm’s length from European football. Still, he has turned up for Major League Soccer heavyweights LA Galaxy as well as his boyhood club Guadalajara, and racked up goals in both places.
Another Wrexham supporter raised an interesting Paul Mullin point. He said: “A thousand times Super Paul Mullin over Chicharito. Assuming the two now have the same level, Mullin has lifetime credit in Wrexham.”
Rightfully, Paul Mullin is a club legend but he has never laced his boots even in the Championship, just forget the Premier League for a second. Taking part in the second tier is still an unfulfilled wish for Mulls.
Hence, branding him as a clear cut winner over the more seasoned striker Chicharito is wrong in many ways. A rather sensible NO for rejecting the Chicharito to Wrexham rumours lies in squad depth.
One fan was right to criticise the need for another striker, adding: “There are already good forwards like Smith and Moore, so why another one?”
In stark contrast to the attack, Wrexham can put a good slice of the January transfer funds to get more defensive help in wide areas. Even fetching an extra midfielder won’t hurt the Reds pockets much, if an out of favour Championship star is available for a suitable bargain.
Exactly 3 weeks are left in the January transfer window from now onwards, let’s see how many new faces are brought at the Racecourse by then.
