"I don't see this being an issue" - Pundit reacts as Conor Hourihane snubs Wrexham for Barnsley | OneFootball

Conor Hourihane turned down a big money move to Wrexham this summer, in favour of a move to fellow League One side Barnsley, but pundit Carlton Palmer believes that this shouldn't be something to read too much into.

The veteran midfielder was reportedly offered a lucrative deal to sign for the ambitious Welsh side this summer, but that contract didn't involve the 33-year-old taking on a player-coaching role at the Racecourse Ground - something he was looking for.

Hourihane instead penned a contract with fellow League One rivals Barnsley, and will go up against Phil Parkinson's side next season.

But should this be a concern for those connected with Wrexham? Are we now seeing the club no longer being able to sweep players off their feet with big money contracts the further they go up the leagues? Football League World investigates...

Carlton Palmer: 'wouldn't read into it'

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer believes that Hourihane opting to snub Wrexham in favour of a move to Barnsley, is not something that should be read into in terms of Wrexham facing tougher player recruitment issues going forward.

Palmer said: "I don't think you can read too much into Conor Hourihane signing for Barnsley on a free transfer.

"A lot of people are reading into the fact that Wrexham offered him a very lucrative contract, he was available on a free after leaving Derby County, and the fact that he turned them down, I don't see this being an issue.

"The situation with Conor is that he was offered a player-coaches role, he's 33, and he's got Barnsley connections. So I would think all of those things factor into his decision not to go to Wrexham.

"Wrexham are on the up and up, and are doing really, really well - back-to-back promotions. They are going to face competition from other clubs, now that they've got up to League One, whereas they were down there, the Wrexham owners were throwing money at the job and paying people a lot of money.

"I think they will still be a very, very good project for some players to go to, but obviously in League One now competing with other big clubs who can pay those salaries, obviously it's going to be more difficult for Wrexham to get signings over the line.

"But this one, I wouldn't make too much of an issue of Wrexham missing out on his signature, despite the big offer reported to have been offered by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

"I don't think too much can be read into that. The fact that he'd been offered a player-coaches role is more I think to do with his signature going to Barnsley, and his connection with the football club."

Wrexham won't fear budgets of other clubs

Fearing other clubs is simply not what Reynolds and McElhenney are running Wrexham AFC to do, they want other clubs to fear them, something which has largely been the case ever since they arrived in North Wales.

Going up the divisions won't intimidate the Hollywood partnership, and if anything, will only further drive their ambition as they find themselves reaching ever deeper into their seemingly endless pockets.

As Palmer alluded to, the Hourihane deal likely won't have gone the Red Dragon's way because the Irish international wasn't willing to sign a deal that wouldn't have seen him take up a hybrid player-coaching role, as opposed to Barnsley being able to offer him a more substantial financial package.

The allure of Wrexham isn't just there because players understand they'll be in line for sizeable payday, players want to sign for them because of the aforementioned ambition and execution of those ambitions by the football club (and the media attention they'll receive of course helps too).

Will the owners face tougher competition for player signatures? Yes. Will they be up against clubs with greater resources in regard to finances and scouting networks? Yes.

But that's par for the course with any football club being promoted from any division, not just Wrexham. The difference is, they can produce a sales pitch that very few other clubs can, sitting across from Reynolds and McElhenney and turning them down would surely be quite the challenge for anyone.

The reality is that Wrexham will still likely have one of the larger budgets in League One next season, so it's not how much they have to spend that should be of any concern, rather how they spend it.