Exclusive: What Don Goodman thinks of Ryan Hardie leaving Plymouth Argyle for Wrexham | OneFootball

Don Goodman exclusively spoke to FLW after Ryan Hardie's move from Plymouth Argyle to Wrexham AFC.

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has heaped praise on Wrexham's signing of Plymouth Argyle striker Ryan Hardie, following his £700k move from the south of England to the north of Wales last week.

The Red Dragons have been admirers of Hardie since the January transfer window, when Football League World exclusively revealed that they and Huddersfield Town were willing to pay the striker's £2m buyout clause.

However, patience prevailed for Wrexham, as Hardie remained at Home Park in the winter transfer window, and ultimately ended up being unable to prevent the Pilgrims from relegation, despite some excellent performances.

This saw the Hollywood-owned side snap the Scot up for a reported fee of just £700k, thanks to a relegation release clause in the player's contract, which the Championship newcomers activated.

On paper, the signing of Hardie looks to be an excellent piece of business by Wrexham, as they've secured the signature of a proven Championship goalscorer on a cut-price deal.

Don Goodman: Ryan Hardie an "excellent signing" for Wrexham

Following the news that the Plymouth fan favourite had swapped the Green of Argyle for the Red of the Dragons, FLW spoke exclusively to former Sunderland striker turned Sky Sports pundit, Don Goodman, quizzing him about his thoughts on the deal.

The 59-year-old answered: "I think Ryan Hardie is an excellent signing for Wrexham at Championship level.

"Obviously [in] the last couple of seasons, he's been in a really struggling Plymouth Argyle team in the Championship, yet he's still managed 12 goals [in] the season before last, and 10 goals last season.

"I do think that Wrexham will come up stronger than Plymouth, and so you'd hope that he'd get better service, and that Wrexham will play to his strengths," Goodman continued.

"If he gets better service, you'd almost expect that he'll at least get into double figures again for Wrexham.

"All-in-all, I think a really really good signing for them," the former Sunderland striker concluded.

Wrexham will hope to take Hardie to the next level

It truly was a sad sight to see Hardie leave the Devon-based club, where he remained for five-and-a-half years before linking up with Wrexham last week.

During his time in PL2, the Scot was a reliable source of goals, across League Two, League One, and the Championship. He provided moments of magic, such as a winning penalty to put Liverpool to the sword in the FA Cup last term.

As Goodman admitted, the Red Dragons will likely have a much better squad than the one Argyle had last term. The fact Hardie managed to hit double figures in the two previous Championship seasons is a testament to his ability, which he could show in abundance at The Racecourse Ground with better service.

The addition of Hardie is a shrewd one by Wrexham, who will be hoping their new striker can reach new heights for the ambitious club, if provided with better service than he had at Plymouth.