Wrexham’s record transfer falls through on deadline day

Wrexham’s attempts to secure a club-record transfer on deadline day were thwarted as the window closed before they could complete the transaction.

The League Two team, owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, has agreed to terms with Harrogate Town’s Luke Armstrong, 27.

Harrogate even revealed that the striker had signed for Wrexham for an undisclosed sum.

Wrexham stated that they had sent the necessary paperwork to the English Football League to finalize the move, but it was not completed before the 11 p.m. BST deadline, so Armstrong remained with Harrogate.

The Welsh club announced in a statement on Saturday that “the required documentation and clearance requests could not be completed in time, and Armstrong’s registration has been rejected.”

“The club would like to thank the player for choosing to join Wrexham earlier in the day and are disappointed that this cannot now happen (pending any appeal).”

Armstrong, who scored 16 goals for Harrogate last season and has 31 in 106 appearances for the club overall, would have joined Wrexham as a replacement for Paul Mullin, who is still out after suffering an injury in preseason against Manchester United.

Mullin had a lung puncture and spent time recovering at McElhenney’s Los Angeles home.

Wrexham signed Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo on loan and Millwall midfielder George Evans on a permanent transfer on deadline day, despite not signing Armstrong.