Unbelievable: Elliot Lee rejected €282.66 million offer from…. seemore
New Mullin and Lee contracts provide Wrexham with short-term impetus and long-term security
With 50 league goals between Wrexham’s Elliot Lee in 2024, there’s no denying the pair’s pivotal role in the club’s push for back-to-back promotions.
So when the club announced, just a minute into the new year, that Mullin and Lee had committed their futures to the SToK Cae Ras for at least the next three and a half years, it made for the perfect way to welcome in the new year.
Not only did the news ensure any party already well underway in north Wales would carry on with a swing, but also — come Monday morning — it also served as the perfect hangover cure for those who had overindulged.
The timing was no accident. The two deals had been signed a couple of days apart, but by releasing the confirmation Mullin and Lee were sticking around, Wrexham hoped to draw first blood on a potentially huge afternoon in the League Two promotion race, as third played fourth and first hosted second.
Judging solely on how those two titanic clashes subsequently played out — Steven Fletcher’s hat-trick inspired Wrexham to a 4-1 win over Barrow as Mansfield Town triumphed 2-0 at leaders Stockport County — the ploy worked well.
Admittedly, the emphatic scoreline against the Cumbrians tells only part of the story on an afternoon when there were 25 minutes of stoppage time due to David Worrall and Luca Stephenson both being knocked out.
The lengthy stoppage at the end of the first half to allow for the first of those two concussion substitutions changed the game, as Wrexham came from behind to seize control via three goals in five crazy minutes.
Up to that point, the hosts had been poor. From then on, though, there was only going to be one winner thanks to Fletcher’s fourth career hat-trick.
The former Scottish international deservedly got the plaudits at the final whistle, but there was no denying the role played in the comeback by Lee and Mullin, the latter’s renowned work ethic during the week helping pave the way for the exquisite free kick that put Wrexham ahead.
He practised that free kick yesterday (in training) and lost about six balls,” says assistant manager Steve Parkin with a smile. “We had a little chat afterwards about how the yellow footballs were flying a bit higher and wider than the white ones.
“We felt Mulls was putting a little bit too much on them. If you watch this one back, he almost guided it into the net.”
Mullin has undoubtedly become the poster boy for Wrexham under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. His prominent role in the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, together with those 90 goals in 117 league and cup appearances, has seen to that.
Such is the 29-year-old’s fame in the USA that a minder insisted on accompanying him to the toilet during the players’ end-of-season trip to Las Vegas after clinching promotion last spring.
Lee’s profile is much more low-key. Having joined the club a year after Mullin, he did feature towards the end of the show’s second series via his relationship with dad Rob, a former England international.
But Mullin remains the main man, particularly across the Atlantic. That may change, though, thanks to Lee’s increasing role in driving the club forward.
Like Mullin when dropping down as League Two’s Golden Boot winner, the former West Ham United junior took a leap of faith when agreeing to join Phil Parkinson’s side during the summer of 2022.
Five years at Luton Town, including loans at Oxford United and Charlton Athletic, meant the midfielder was wanted by a host of EFL clubs, including several in League One.
A third career promotion via last season’s National League title success — Lee scored a dozen goals and contributed eight assists — justified that decision to drop into non-League.
Since then, Lee has pushed on, taking up the goalscoring mantle when Mullin was injured and establishing himself as a leading candidate to be the 2023-24 player of the year.
This stellar form, quite naturally, attracted the attention of several would-be suitors, hence Wrexham’s desire to tie the midfielder to a new contract. By concluding those talks, any potentially damaging speculation during the January window was nipped in the bud.
Likewise Mullin — who continued to be linked with a possible move to Saudi Arabia during the run-up to the window opening, despite the striker making it clear to anyone who would listen that he has no desire to leave his Merseyside home.
“I never want to play football anywhere else,” says the Liverpudlian striker. “I absolutely love playing here, so when the club came to me with the offer of a new contract, I jumped at the chance.
“It means I’ll stay here a lot longer than I thought when initially signing here. A phenomenal journey so far, but it is not stopping here. We are on a train and we all want to see where we can be come the end of our time at this club.”
Lee may not boast a goal and assist to his name against Barrow, unlike his great friend Mullin, but he played a full part in the win, starting with the quick dart forward that earned the stoppage-time free kick finished so brilliantly by Mullin.
His raking pass to Anthony Forde on the right flank midway through the second half also paved the way for the cross Fletcher headed beyond Paul Farman midway through the second half.
Like Mullin, Lee’s future is now secure via a contract that is longer than the 12- or 24-month deals more commonly found at this level — again a reflection of what the pair continue to bring to the team.
That they’ll both be approaching their 33rd birthday when the deals run out also speaks volumes about how highly they are regarded.
“I’m the same as Mulls in that we both took a bit of criticism for dropping out of the league (EFL),” says Wrexham’s 13-goal top scorer. “But we spoke to the manager and the owners, so we could see there was a pathway toward a lot of success here.
It has proved to be that way. I think if you ask a lot of players, they want to come to Wrexham. Even managers and coaches. This is a great place to be and a great place to play.
“When you find a home like me and Mulls have found here, you shouldn’t take it for granted. I think I speak for both of us when I say we just love playing for this club. It really was one of our better decisions to come here.”
