Town manager Kieran McKenna says he would have liked to have kept Nathan Broadhead at Portman Road but that the Wales international made it clear early in the summer he’d like to move on to Wrexham.

Broadhead, 27, signed for the Red Dragons yesterday, the clubs having agreed a £7.5 million fee, plus further top-ups of £2.5 million.

“A player that we would like to have had here this year, there’s no doubt about it,” McKenna said. “A high-quality player, someone who's had a really good experience with us over the last couple of years. 
 
“Nathan made it clear from the early part of pre-season that he'd had an offer from a club, and an incredible contract offer really for his personal situation. 
 
“So, I fully understand his desire to take that opportunity and it's a club close to home that he has an affinity to. I understand all aspects of that. So, from his point of view, it was a transfer that he wanted to happen. 
 
“He sort of made that clear right the way through pre-season. So in the end it was a difficult situation to go in another direction.

“Of course, he's on a contract here and he's an important member of the squad and we'd like to have kept him. 
 
“But in the end, it wasn't possible. His desire to leave was really, really strong and he makes the move to Wrexham.

“He goes with fond memories of his time at the club. I know all the supporters will wish him well.
 
“I'm disappointed with how it came about in some ways, but at the same time it's a really fantastic deal for Nathan. It's a good deal for the club in terms of return on what was invested in the player.
 
“And he'll go with a lot of people here's best wishes. And for us, it's about trying to replace that quality and still have a really good season.”

Photo: Matchday Images

ruds added 15:31 - Aug 15 Money talks and the petition walks, sadly!!
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springfield added 15:33 - Aug 15 Sounds unavoidable :(
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Lukeybluey added 15:34 - Aug 15 I think the agent has a lot to do with how this has panned out it seems... probably for the best...we have clarke, ogbene and burns who play there, but would like to see a left footed winger there to replace Omari... who that woild be...McKenna knows..
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billlm added 15:38 - Aug 15 It started last summer, he was always going to go,
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Lukeybluey added 15:39 - Aug 15 Sorry, clicked on wrong article!... bloody phone and a couple of pints up the black tiles... meant for the hutch article
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FelixBlue4 added 15:39 - Aug 15 Having read both statements from KMc about Broadhead and Omari I find it strange that he is almost hanging Nathan out to dry by saying he has instigated the move and made it clear he didn’t want to be here. Yet with Omari it’s how he could have gone about the move in a better way. You can only assume that by turning up to train and play Nathan was not throwing his toys out pushing a move which in turn held the price at a premium for the club, on the other side you have a player that doesn’t do that who it looks like is held in higher regard by the manager. Wish both players the best of luck as I do all the players that have moved on this summer.

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IvorFeeling added 15:40 - Aug 15 Football is brutal & I understand Broady on this. Players make certain decisions and we can argue all we like if we believe it is right or not but I believe, given what we know, that at least he approached it the correct way. He's a Welsh lad, will be playing close to were he was born & raised on a bigger contract so good luck to him. He contributed immensely during the League 1 & Championship campaign and given he wanted to go, both parties have done well out of it.

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tetchris added 15:41 - Aug 15 Next …….
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ArnieM added 15:44 - Aug 15 ..." Id have loved to have kept Broadhead".... really??
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Bluedocker added 15:45 - Aug 15 So did wrexham make a illegal approach for him then.
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CityBlue added 15:45 - Aug 15 This smells like illegal player approach.
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TubbyToast added 15:52 - Aug 15 From the outside, what is going on at the club doesn't feel right. Too much quality jumping ship and not quite sure what is going on behinds the scenes because of all the radio silence. Seems like Kieran is being wheeled out to front everything atm. Just seems like the last time we were relegated from the PL. New players came in on higher wages than the core group, morale and team spirit splintered and down we tumbled. I do hope history is not going to repeat itself!

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Bazza8564 added 15:53 - Aug 15 Yes fellas, agreed! How can a player who is contracted to ITFC receive an offer unless we gave permission to speak with another club? Given that he was on the point of going to Sunderland last August im not surprised he has been allowed to move on, we've got a good price for him, just a little surprised at the "would have liked to have kept him" quote....
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jas0999 added 16:03 - Aug 15 Can’t wait to see what exceptional permanent signings MA will be completing. Squad still looks weak in places - as confirmed by KMc. Hopefully some big fees are being agreed to replace the players we seem to have easily sold.
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carlo88 added 16:04 - Aug 15 ^^ TubbyToast You're right it feels very like 2002/03. The team spirit of the last three years seems to have dissolved alarmingly, just like then. I think Morsy going is key too, much like Matt Holland then too. Not convinced at his replacement either, doesn't seem to have that captain aura about him.
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AbujaBlue added 16:05 - Aug 15 Bluedocker and cityblue have hit the nail on the head. Wrexham clearly made an illegal approach and unsettled a player before preseason. This is what McKenna is unhappy about. Says a lot about how Wrexham is run as a football club.
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BlueMoon added 16:15 - Aug 15 Don't disagree that it's a shame to see Broady go but at the same time I'm heartened by our ability to bring in a very decent amount for a player with just a year left on his contract. Expected we would lose him for free when his contract expires - speaks volumes for our financial nous nowadays! Hope we reinvest in a decent (comparable) new signing or two.
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Denny32 added 16:15 - Aug 15 In other words, owners aren't going to keep throwing publics hard earned money, as in pension fund at our Club...its a case of, we give you so much but sell so make a profit and we will let you use some of that money instead!!..unfortunately they are the cons of being owned by a pension fund and odd investor ,compared to the SHEIKS who will throw any amount at you .we will have to get used to the yo yo effect till we change owners

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herfie added 16:23 - Aug 15 The advent of greedy agents, wielding too much power; the devaluation of individuals’ contracts and players effectively holding clubs to ransome, effectively constrain owners and managers ability to act on a level playing field, where respect, integrity and honesty have primacy. The easy get out card of “well, that’s modern day football”, doesn’t really cut it. Where does the blurring of lines between those supposedly managing, and those being managed, stop? All that said, wish Broady well and thank him for his efforts on our behalf.

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oioihardy added 16:23 - Aug 15 Sorry mckenna but I think if you gave him the game time , it may of been prevented till next season . But that being said 7.5 to 10 mil is a quality fee he will be missed and I dont blame the club for taking the money
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oioihardy added 16:24 - Aug 15 Sorry mckenna but I think if you gave him the game time , it may of been prevented till next season . But that being said 7.5 to 10 mil is a quality fee he will be missed and I dont blame the club for taking the money
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Rimsy added 16:31 - Aug 15 I much prefer how Broadhead went about things. He obviously wanted a move to his home town club, but never gave less than 100% when called upon, unlike Omari. You can understand nb with the limited opportunities he was getting. Good luck to him.
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 16:34 - Aug 15 I’ll be honest, I didn’t think ‘Tapping up’ was still against the rules but I’ve just looked and it clearly is. It’s not against any UK laws, just FA and FIFA rules but still significant. This could easily be a miss-speak by McKenna and the offer may have been to the club first. Also, if you think about it, almost every offer is made public (therefore informing the player of interest) before it’s accepted so that rule is largely ignored by pretty much every club.

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WhoisJimmyJuan added 16:49 - Aug 15 Not sure about comparisons to 2002/03 precisely but I certainly agree things don't feel right anymore and as someone pointed out on another thread, the players don't look happy. I recall the advert going out about £100m in player values to potential investors. If all this transfer income is not available for reinvestment we could be in trouble again. But let's see i guess

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Fat_Boy_Tim added 16:56 - Aug 15 I think we should all be a bit calmer about the Omari thing. We shouldn't have been relying on him to beat Bromley in the first place. On top of that, in 12 months (he was on loan before that) he just earned us about £15m and we wouldn't have got to the premier League without him which gave us £100m to spend on him and Delap et al. As a club we are immensely stronger for those two years we got from a 19 (when he joined) year old. Let's not slowly turn into entitled Leicester or Southampton fans, these are fantastic and extraordinary times for our club and we need to enjoy them. We've already spent in excess of £30m at the start of a Championship season. That was probably a decade's worth of spending not long ago.

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