Ryan Reynolds axes 14 players from Wrexham squad in major announcement
The club have announced their full retained list with a dozen senior and young players set to depart
Ryan Reynolds during the OMR Festival 2025 on May 06, 2025 in Hamburg, Germany
(Image: Tristar Media/WireImage )
Wrexham have announced that a total of 14 players will leave the club after achieving promotion to the Championship.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have overseen back-to-back-to-back promotions from the National League right up to the second tier of the English Football League and now face a crucial summer ahead of what will be another brutal campaign.
The leap from League One to the Championship is a sizeable one and Wrexham will feel they will have to bolster their squad accordingly if they are to compete at the top end for a shot at promotion to the Premier League.
In order to do that, they will have to free up some room in their squad and have taken the decision to cut some senior and some youth players.
In an announcement made on Friday afternoon, the club confirmed that veteran striker Steven Fletcher and experienced goalkeeper Mark Howard will depart.
Homegrown talent Jordan Davies, a product of the youth system at Wrexham either side of a three-year stint at Premier League outfit Brighton, will also leave the club.
Article continues below
Writing on social media, Davies penned a heartfelt message to the owners and supporters, saying: "My time at my hometown club has come to end, safe to say we've been on a special journey.
"Not in my dreams when I joined back in Covid did I think I'd be leaving here five seasons later with it being a Championship club. With unbelievable achievements right along the way.
"I want to say thank you to all the players and staff that have helped me on the journey. It was a special group of lads the whole time. I especially thank you @vancityreynolds and @robmcelhenney for changing the feel around the whole town. Long may the Wrexham journey continue."
Josh Adam, Harry Dean, Brad Foster and Liam Hall have all departed, while Sam Dalby, who has been on loan in Scotland with Dundee United, turned down a new contract and will also leave.
Callum Edwards has been offered a new contract, while Wrexham have triggered a year-long extension to Aaron James' deal, too.
A decision is yet to be made on James Rainbird, who will remain under contract while he recovers from injury.
A further six players will be released from the list of young professionals at the club, with Keane Hazeldine, Reagan Nicholas, Bryn Owen, Harri Roberts and Anton Tierney all leaving, while Elliot Jones rejected a new offer to pursue a different career.
Both Reynolds and McElhenney have taken to social media to express sympathy for some departing players. Reynolds was effusive in his praise of striker Fletcher and goalkeeper Howard, writing: "Mr @stevenfletcher9official: words aren't agile enough to capture what you've brought to Wrexham, the sport, and the lives of myself and this whole town.
"You aren't a PART of greatness. You ARE greatness. I don't really know what a co-chairmen is supposed to do or say in these moments and I don't much care.
"I'm gonna miss you. I'll miss your leadership and wit and the way you remind everyone — including me — that this is also FUN. Like the first day we met, I'm here for you any time and any place. Always.
"And @markhoward.1— how on earth do we put into words the clutch work you do as a keeper. You have the hardest job in football. And you can't have that ability without being a clutch person in life.
"You have a beautiful family and you have a second family in Wrexham now and always. You're the big beating heart of this team and the reason we have the best locker room in sports.
Article continues below
"Fletch and Chomp, you've authored some of the greatest moments of my life. And so many others. All I can do is thank you."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
a few seconds ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Disjointed Chelsea labour to goalless draw with Crystal Palace
Chelsea made an underwhelming start to the Premier League season as Crystal Palace ground out a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. After a truncated pre-season following victory in the Club World Cup, everything pointed to a Chelsea side lacking both preparation and rest as Oliver Glasner's team coped relative easily with a new-look yet disjointed attack. Advertisement Eberechi Eze started for Palace despite speculation he is about to leave and, if there were doubts about how supporters felt about the player whose goal won them the FA Cup in May, they were dispelled when he was substituted to a standing ovation late on. Full-time at SB. ⏹️ #CFC | #CHECRY — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 17, 2025 The England international provided the game with its only major talking point, lashing in a brilliant free-kick in the first half that was ruled out after Marc Guehi obstructed Chelsea's wall, drawing a furious response from Palace fans. As expected, Nicolas Jackson was not in Enzo Maresca's squad after being made surplus to requirements, with Newcastle considering a bid, while Joao Pedro was preferred at number nine to fellow new signing Liam Delap. Chelsea were playing 35 days after their win over Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup final in the United States and showed signs of mental fatigue in a first-half display low on creativity. Advertisement Marc Cucurella had the first of their only two chances, his near-post header looping towards the far corner where it was nodded off the line by the leaping Ismaila Sarr. Eberechi Eze's celebrations were cut shot by VAR (John Walton/PA). Eze looked to have obliged the headline writers after 15 minutes with an unstoppable free-kick that flew through the middle of the Chelsea wall and in, only for a VAR check to reveal Guehi had unfairly forced Moises Caicedo out of the ball's path. Moments later Jean-Philippe Mateta broke into the box but shot too close to Robert Sanchez, who bounced the effort to safety. There was little worthy of home fans' enthusiasm in attack in the first half, but they showed raucous appreciation for a wonderfully-timed, full-blooded tackle on Daniel Munoz by 19-year-old Josh Acheampong, making a third Premier League start in central defence, with Levi Colwill a long-term absentee and Wesley Fofana not risked. Advertisement With Maresca having been told to seek internal solutions to his lack of defensive options, the academy graduate staked a convincing claim for regular game time with a display of maturity and fulsome grit that was warmly received by an otherwise subdued crowd. Estevao Willian made his Chelsea debut (John Walton/PA). The best Chelsea chance of the half fell to Trevoh Chalobah, who fired high from eight yards after good work from debutant Jamie Gittens. Estevao Willian was sent on in the 53rd minute for a debut and, with his first action, annihilated Guehi in a foot race down the right before crossing brilliantly for Enzo Fernandez, who failed to make good contact. The Brazil international, still only 18 despite the hype surrounding his arrival from Palmeiras, betrayed his inexperience minutes later when striking wildly over the bar when off balance before being booked for lunging at Munoz. Advertisement Eze was again almost the story when he drilled at goal and brought a two-handed save from Sanchez, then at the other end substitute Delap shot straight at Dean Henderson.
BBC News
a few seconds ago
- BBC News
Nottingham Forest 3-1 Brentford: What Andrews said
Brentford lost 3-1 on the road at Nottingham Forest in their opening Premier League fixture and manager Keith Andrews believes his team need to get back to 'basics'. "It was always going to be difficult but we made it harder for ourselves," Andrews told BBC Match of the Day. "We knew their strengths and we knew the problems they would cause. Set pieces were always going to be a threat. I felt our structure was lacking. We didn't perform in the first half."Get back to basics. Basics in the game is a dirty word at times. You have to have an edge and do the ugly side of the game and compete as a team. I didn't think we did that. I saw it a lot in the first half today and it's something we need to address. The second half was a lot better on a lot of fronts."The second half performance had a lot of character. [Igor] Thiago, it was good for him to get off the mark."On transfers and new players: "The club is always looking for what they need. You've seen today there are some players getting up to speed and they haven't had a fluid pre-season. I'm really happy with who we've signed so far."On Yoane Wissa's future, speaking to Sky Sports, he added: "It is what it is. it's an ongoing issue. Ideally Wissa would have been available today and unless anything has happened in the last few hours then it's the same things. Hopefully it can resolve itself sooner rather than later."We're always looking and there's a clear plan at the club if a player leaves then we'll look."
Times
a few seconds ago
- Times
Keith Andrews given tough lesson as Nottingham Forest start strong
It has been a 'windy road' to the Brentford hot seat, Keith Andrews mused on the eve of the season's kick-off, but many more performances like this will brew a storm the likes of which the former set-piece coach has never seen. Brentford's decision, during a summer of upheaval, to replace Thomas Frank with a managerial novice always appeared brave and, on this evidence, Brentford's faith in their process could face a stern test in the weeks ahead. Nottingham Forest roared into a three-goal first-half lead here, thanks to two strikes from Chris Wood either side of a fine header by debutant Dan Ndoye. Igor Thiago's late penalty gave a sheen of respectability to the scoreline that Brentford, in truth, did not deserve, after a chaotic first-half display. Forest, it should be said, were outstanding, pinning Brentford back into their own defensive third from the start, pressing higher than we were accustomed to last season but typically ruthless in front of goal. Forest's most important piece of business over the summer was arguably holding on to Morgan Gibbs-White, who was in majestic form here. Forest's No10, who was the subject of a £60million bid by Tottenham Hotspur last month, before penning a new three-year contract, was the player who sprinkled the star dust over Forest's full-throttle first-half display, although Elliott Anderson ran him close for player of the match. Brentford only conceded twice from corners during the whole of last season, but five minutes into the Andrews era Wood volleyed in, unmarked, following a mix-up between three defenders, who failed to clear Anderson's delivery. Forest almost doubled the lead four minutes later, after a dizzying exchange of passes between Anderson, Gibbs-White and Ndoye down Forest's right side. Anderson's drive was charged down but Forest suffocated Brentford in the opening stages, and Andrews' side never recovered. Ndoye, who joined from Bologna for £34million in July, was the sole debutant for the home side, and the replacement for Anthony Elanga, who joined Newcastle United for £55million over the summer, in an otherwise familiar line-up. Nuno complained of a lack of options last week, and Forest's failure to bolster his ranks ahead of the club's return to Europe for the first time in three decades. But Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee were presented to supporters before kick-off and the Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo is expected to join imminenetly, meaning Forest will have boosted the their attack with almost £100million worth of talent in the space of a few days. As well as losing their head coach, Frank, and four members of his coaching staff, Brentford have lost their captain, Christian Norgaard, to Arsenal. Last season's top goalscorer, Bryan Mbeumo, now plays for Manchester United and their leading scorer in the Premier League, Yoane Wissa, was left out of the squad and is keen to leave the club, too. Brentford's best player, Mikkel Damsgaard, was absent too, owing to the birth of his new baby. Andrews could do nothing about that, of course, just as the former set-piece coach could do nothing about the shambolic defending that preceded Forest's fifth-minute opener. Brentford were calamitous at the back and blunt in attack. They looked like a team bereft of the kind of leadership Jordan Henderson offers, and will surely soon bring to bear on the team for more than the final 21 minutes he played here. Forest's second arrived in the 42nd minute, Gibbs-White performing a delightful pirouette to steal a few yards of space 25 yards from goal, before clipping a left-footed cross on to the head of Ndoye, who guided the ball back across goal beyond the helpless debutant, Caoimhin Kelleher. Forest's supporters were given their first glimpse of Ndoye's trademark celebration, the 24-year-old mimicking a growling cat displaying its claws, and the Switzerland winger will hope this was the first of many. Five minutes later, it was three and, once again Brentford were architects of their own downfall. The brilliant Anderson pounced on Sepp van den Berg's loose pass from defence into midfield, before essaying a beautifully weighted first-time pass into the path of Wood — an early contender for assist of the season. Last season's 20-goal top scorer rounded Kelleher, rolled the ball into the empty net and, since Nuno took over at Nottingham Forest, only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak have scored more Premier League goals the New Zealander (33). Brentford's first shot on goal did not arrive until the 23rd minute, Yehor Yarmoliuk gathering possession after a Gibbs-White slip inside the Forest half before forcing a strong right-handed save by Matz Sels. Their best chance of the afternoon arrived moments before Forest's third, Rico Henry darting to the byline before cutting back for Thiago, but the Brentford striker — making his first Premier League start following an injury-blighted 12 months — blazed over from eight yards. Brentford's 78th-minute goal from the penalty spot, after Ibrahim Sangaré handled in the box, was little more than a consolation. Thiago rolled in his first goal for the club since joining from from Club Bruges last summer, but for Andrews and Brentford there is much to ponder.
