Wrexham AFC will have expected more after sanctioning £200k Wolves deal | OneFootball

Wolves signed Bradley Reid for a fee of £200,000 in September 2013 but he never made a senior appearance for the club

When Wrexham striker Bradley Reid completed a move to Wolves in September 2013, expectations were high in North Wales with supporters hoping he'd enjoy a stellar career in the EFL, or even the Premier League.

However, Reid's career hasn't quite gone to plan, and now, at the age of 29, he's playing for Conway Borough FC, who ply their trade in the Ardal League NW, the third tier of Welsh football.

Reid was seen as the next big thing at Wrexham just over a decade ago, and the move to League One side Wolves in 2013 should have been the springboard to enjoy a successful career in the professional game, and supporters may be surprised at the way his career has panned out.

Wrexham would have expected more after sanctioning £200k Wolves deal

While Wrexham are currently thriving in League One with Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney helping them to become a global brand, it's fair to say that their situation in 2013 was very different.

The club were struggling after relegation to the National League in 2008, and while they had finished fifth during the 2012/13 campaign, finances were tight at The Racecourse.

However, Wrexham looked to have an asset in Reid who could make the club money, and the striker made his debut for the club as a youngster during the 2012/13 season, playing four times in the National League.

He looked set for a breakthrough season the following year, playing five league games in August 2013, but just two days after playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 defeat to bitter rivals Chester, Reid departed the club, joining Wolves in a deal worth £200,000.

While Wolves were a League One side at the time, they were a huge club at that level, as seen by their subsequent promotions and ventures into European football since, and the chance to move to a club of that stature was too good to pass up for the 17-year-old.

It looked like decent business from a Wrexham point-of-view too, with the cash-strapped club selling a 17-year-old for £200,000 after just nine games of senior football, money which was certainly needed.

Given the fee Wolves paid for him at such a young age, Reid looked set for a big future in the game, and Wolves head of development Kevin Thelwell had clearly seen his potential.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "Bradley is actually a player who we nearly signed at Under-16 level, but unfortunately, at that stage, he suffered an injury."

However, while Reid looked destined for the top, it didn't quite work out that way, leaving Wrexham supporters disappointed.

Bradley Reid struggled after moving to Wolves

No one expected Reid to immediately break into Kenny Jacket's first-team, and he performed relatively well for the club's U21 side during the 2013/14 campaign, before being loaned back out to Wrexham in March 2014.

Another National League loan spell followed for the 2014/15 campaign, this time joining Telford United, and with Wolves winning promotion to the Championship, it meant game time was going to be harder to come by for the youngster.

Reid spent the entire 2015/16 season campaign at Molineux, making the matchday squad just once and failing to make an appearance, and it was becoming clear that his time in the Black Country wasn't going to work out.

The 2016/17 campaign was to be his final season at Wolves, and while he briefly spent some time on loan at Wrexham, it wasn't a huge success, playing just twice.

Another loan move to Tamworth followed, this time with the club in the National League North, and it was clear that playing in the sixth tier of English football in his fourth season as a Wolves player meant he had no future at the club.

He was released in the summer of 2017, having failed to make a first-team appearance, and subsequently joined Tamworth on a permanent basis, before joining Stourbridge on loan in March 2018.

However, Reid has fallen out of professional football altogether now, and is back plying his trade in North Wales for Conwy Borough in the third tier of Welsh football.

Wrexham supporters will be disappointed that Reid wasn't quite able to make the breakthrough at Wolves and become a seasoned professional footballer, but the money they received for him back in September 2013 was well-received, and he'll be fondly remembered at the Racecourse because of that.