"All these amazing things" - Wrexham AFC transfer regret voiced on Ipswich Town player | OneFootball

FLW's Wrexham fan pundit has picked out Jackson as a player that the club let leave too early

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Kayden Jackson has been picked out as the most notable player that Wrexham sold too early, due to his impressive exploits since leaving the Racecourse Ground for the likes of Ipswich Town and Accrington Stanley.

Jackson currently plies his trade at Derby County in the Championship but was once on the Red Dragons' books while the club were stuck lingering around mid-table in the National League.

The Bradford-born striker did not make it into professional football in the conventional way, after he won a competition set up by Samsung in 2013 as a 19-year-old to be given a professional contract, and signed with Swindon Town in July of that year.

He made the move to Wrexham two years later, via loan spells away from Swindon and a season in the Conference North with Tamworth, as he penned a one-year deal at the club under then-boss Gary Mills.

Jackson only spent a year at the Red Dragons, as Mills handed him limited starting opportunities throughout the 2015/16 campaign, and rejected a new deal at the end of the season to make the step-up to the Championship with Barnsley.

He has since gone on to feature for Grimsby Town, Accrington, Ipswich and Derby County over the years, and has forged a stellar career in the EFL after being allowed to leave Wrexham all those years ago.

Kayden Jackson, Wrexham regret issued by fan pundit

Jackson played 36 times in the National League for Wrexham in the 2015/16 season, but only started 17 games despite a relatively decent record of four goals and eight assists across the campaign.

His impressive form toward the back end of the season saw him earn a call-up for the England C team, and he netted in a game against Ukraine's under-23 side, but soon became ineligible for selection as he rejected a new contract at Wrexham to sign for Barnsley in May 2016.

Jackson's footballing journey since then has seen him win promotions from each of the three EFL leagues with both Accrington and Ipswich, and he is now a solid Championship player at the age of 30, while the Red Dragons have enjoyed a rapid rise up the leagues in the last few years, but still remain a league below in the third-tier.

As a result of his exploits since his departure, FLW's Wrexham fan pundit, Liam Grice, picked out Jackson after we asked him to name a player that he believes his club sold way too early in their career.

“It’s quite a tough one because our outgoings, even pre-takeover and now during this era, haven’t really been for transfer fees," Liam told FLW.

“We tend to let players leave on a free, but if I had to pick one player, I’d go for Kayden Jackson.

“He came through during Gary Mills’ time at the club, and he made an immediate impact and scored a few goals, but then it seemed that he was deemed not worthy by the manager to start for the rest of the season.

“At the end of that season, he was sold for a fee.

“I would have loved to have seen more of him in a Wrexham shirt.

“Obviously he has gone on to play for Ipswich, reach the Premier League, and he’s done all these amazing things in his career.

“I really feel he could have impacted a lot more for Wrexham if he was given the opportunity.”

Jackson has been a key man for numerous clubs since he left Wrexham

Jackson may have left the Red Dragons for Barnsley, but he never really imposed himself at Oakwell, and instead spent time out on loan at Grimsby Town in League Two before he joined Accrington in the summer of 2017.

He was a hit at the Wham Stadium, and registered 15 goals and 15 assists in 44 League Two appearances as he struck up an outstanding strike partnership with Billy Kee under John Coleman, and Stanley cruised to the league title with 93 points.

That standout form earned him a move back to the Championship with Ipswich Town, and despite relegation in his first season at Portman Road, he remained a key part of their squad and featured 38 times in the 2022/23 campaign as they returned to the second-tier under Kieran McKenna.

Despite turning 30 in February, Jackson's 2023/24 season was one of his most fruitful, not just as part of a successful Town team that achieved a historic successive promotion to the Premier League, but also on a personal level as he registered seven combined league goals and assists, the fourth-highest of any professional season in his career so far and his best since 2019/20.

Jackson was competing with the likes of Wes Burns, Omari Hutchinson, George Hirst and Kieffer Moore for starting places last season, so was limited to just nine starts in the Championship, but still managed to net key goals against Stoke City, Preston and Sunderland, while providing assists against Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday as well as in the last minute to set up Hutchinson to score the winner against Rotherham.

He was not given the chance to feature in the top flight for the first time in his career, however, and signed for Derby County in July after being released by the Tractor Boys, and is now a key part of Paul Warne's side with the Rams looking to avoid relegation from the Championship this season.

Wrexham may well be on the right track to playing in the top-flight themselves in the near future, with the help of their Hollywood owners, but they will certainly feel like Jackson was one that got away, and he has proven that he took the right choice to leave the Racecourse Ground all those years ago.