Elliot Lee is leaving Wrexham, and the way he said goodbye tells you everything about what the club has become under Reynolds and McElhenney.
The 31-year-old forward — 40 goals, 150 appearances, three straight promotions — posted an open letter to fans on Thursday that reads less like a PR exercise and more like someone who genuinely meant every word of it. "Since my first game at The Racecourse you took me in as one of your own. I could tell this place was special," he wrote. "I sit here 4 years later, with so much pride and joy at what we achieved."
A departure that was coming
Sentiment aside, the football logic was straightforward. Lee made just three appearances for Wrexham last season — their first back in the second tier since 1982 — before being shipped out on loan to League One side Doncaster Rovers in February. When a player who helped drag a club out of non-league football can't get minutes in the Championship, both sides know the relationship has run its course.
Manager Phil Parkinson acknowledged as much. "He is at the stage now where he is eager to go and play and get some minutes," Parkinson said. Diplomatic, but clear.
Lee's exit is the natural endpoint of a promotion cycle. The squad that stormed through the National League and League Two was built for a different level — and Wrexham's roster has been upgraded accordingly. That's the cold side of football success: the players who built the foundation often don't survive the construction of the next floor.
What this means for Wrexham's season
Lee wasn't going to feature heavily in Wrexham's Championship plans, so the sporting impact is minimal. His departure — alongside the exits of Davis Keillor-Dunn (loan), Harry Ashfield (permanent), and Alex Moore (loan) — is more about trimming a bloated squad than plugging a gap. Wrexham need Championship-ready depth now, not League Two-era loyalty picks.
For anyone tracking Wrexham's promotion odds this season, the squad evolution matters more than any individual exit. Lee's contributions helped get them here. Whether the current group can keep climbing is a different question entirely.
He ended his letter referencing a preseason trip to Poland — "we will always have that day in Poland" — as a stand-in for the Racecourse goodbye he didn't get. It's a small, specific detail that lands harder than any sweeping tribute could.
