Wrexham are poised to sign Ryan Hardie, and DragonSports’ Ali Maxwell reckons the Plymouth Argyle striker will prove a shrewd acquisition.
The 28-year-old former Scotland U21 international has been linked with a number of clubs and is valued at around £2m with only a year left on his current contract.
But Football League expert Maxwell – part of the Not The Top 20 podcast – believes Hardie is on his way to Wrexham as they gear up for Championship football next season.
Hardie scored 12 goals in a struggling Plymouth team last season, not enough to prevent them from sliding down into League One, along with Cardiff City and Luton.
But 10 of those goals came in a purple patch that spanned just 13 matches from February onwards and for a time it appeared that contribution might prove enough to keep them up.
In the end, Argyle went down, but Hardie can remain in the second tier by moving to Wrexham who are keen to improve their goalscoring record.
Phil Parkinson’s side went up from League One with a tally of just 67 goals in their 46 games, an average of less than 1.5 goals per game.
Paul Mullin, who was so instrumental in Wrexham’s rise from the National League and through League Two, started just nine games and scored only three goals.
Maxwell says Hardie can help improve a squad for whom strikers Steven Fletcher, Jay Rodriguez and Sam Smith managed just 17 league goals between them.
“Hardie has been at Argyle for five and a half years now and he's scored over 70 goals for the club. He's been a real success,” said Maxwell.
“But when it comes to the way Wrexham play, of course you need players who can finish well, but there’s also a lot more value that their strikers need to add outside of goalscoring.
“There’s just a level of speed and of channel-running that I think is currently missing in the squad and I think Hardie fits that bill perfectly.”
So far this season, Wrexham have been linked with a number of players including other experienced strikers such as Callum Robinson and Danny Ings.
But Maxwell feels Hardie is a better fit – a player who works hard and has the ability make runs that create space for teammates.
According to Maxwell, though, few Wrexham fans should anticipate seeing much of Hardie on the ball.
“If there's a prediction I can make now, it is that by the end of next season if Ryan Hardie plays the whole season for Wrexham, he will end up touching the ball per 90 minutes about as little as any other number nine in the division.
“Hardie's not a link player, he's not technically incredible, he's not going to create a lot of goals with his passing. But he will create a lot of opportunities for his teammates with the movement that he makes.
“His goal output could jump up quite nicely to maybe 15 or more this season, which would be an incredible return and very, very valuable for Wrexham.”
