Wrexham paid nearly $3 million for Liberato Cacace. They got 13 appearances and four separate injuries for their money. That's not a return anyone planned for — but it might not be the full story yet.
The New Zealand international arrived from Empoli last summer as the club's record signing, a statement of intent as Wrexham prepared for their first Championship campaign in 43 years. He looked the part on opening day against Southampton. Then a thigh problem wiped out four matches. He came back, lasted 77 minutes in the win over Millwall, and went down again. That cycle repeated itself across the season until he'd barely strung together five consecutive appearances.
What makes it stranger is that Cacace hadn't missed a single match through injury during his three previous seasons in Serie A. He didn't arrive broken. The Championship broke him.
A different kind of football
His explanation is worth listening to. "It is almost like a basketball game — it is end-to-end," he told The Unused Subs podcast. "Italy is so tactical, it's like a chess game. Here, the pitch is so open, you are running so much at a high speed." For a left wingback whose entire game is built on running lanes and pressing intensity, the gear shift from Italian football to the Championship was severe. His body simply hadn't experienced that sustained high-speed output before.
He also had other options. Newly promoted Cremonese made an offer to keep him in Italy. Former Empoli teammate Liam Henderson pointed him toward Wrexham instead, selling him on the ambition and the trajectory. Cacace says the pitch was simple: a path to the Premier League. "That is why I signed here," he said. "I really want to do that with Wrexham."
Whether that's realistic in year two is a legitimate question. Wrexham pushed hard in their first Championship season and came closer to promotion than most expected. If they go again next year with a fully fit Cacace — an attacking left-back with Serie A experience and genuine quality on the ball — their options down that flank look considerably different. That's a real upgrade on what they actually fielded for most of last season.
Fitness is the only caveat
That's the catch, of course. A player who missed more than two-thirds of the season on the back of zero previous injury history isn't someone you simply project as fit from now on. The pattern needs to break before Cacace becomes a genuine asset rather than an expensive promise.
He's heading into a New Zealand World Cup squad this summer, which is either perfect preparation or another opportunity for something to go wrong. Wrexham's ability to push for promotion next season may hinge, more than fans realise, on which version of Cacace shows up in August.
"Even with how the season has gone," he said, "it is still a decision I am really happy with." That's the right attitude. Whether it translates to availability is the only thing that matters now.
