Welcome to Wrexham season 2: who is Paul Mullin, how many goals did striker score for Red Dragons last season

Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElleny read the script for Welcome to Wrexham season two as they guided their team to a blockbuster promotion-winning season last term to end a 15-year hiatus from the Football League.

The Red Dragons won the National League in style with an all-time record points tally of 111 points and they also scored a staggering 116 goals from 46 league matches.

Many of those goals were scored by star striker Paul Mullin who fired in a total of three hat-tricks in the league to establish himself as a non-league great. One of his most notable moments came at the end of last season when he scored Wrexham’s first goal in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Notts County.

The win played a key role in helping Wrexham’s to the title and brought more eyes to the world of non-league football than ever before.

But who is Paul Mullin and when did the striker sign for Wrexham?

Here’s everything you need to know about Wrexham’s main man ahead of Welcome to Wrexham season two.

Who is Paul Mullin?

Paul Mullin is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Wrexham in League Two.

Mullin was born in Liverpool and was a product of both Everton, Liverpool and Huddersfield Town’s academies.

As a teenager he was loaned out to Cheshire based outfit Vauxhall Motors in 2013/14, but failed to score in his four appearances.

The striker was released from Huddersfield without making a single first team appearance, but he was handed a first opportunity in the Football League by Morecambe manager Jim Bentley who signed the striker on a free transfer.

Mullin was a regular first team fixture in a Morecambe team that struggled at the bottom end of League Two for three seasons, before making the move to Swindon Town.

He stayed in Wiltshire for just one season before moving closer to home to sign for Tranmere Rovers. The move proved successful as they won promotion to League 1 via the play-offs.

Mullin struggled for first team opportunities in the third-tier and was loaned out to Cambridge in 2020. The move was later made permanent the following summer.

When did Paul Mullin sign for Wrexham?

Paul Mullin’s move to Cambridge transformed him into one of League Two’s most prolific goalscorers and he won the golden boot in the 2020/21 campaign with 32 goals as his team won promotion.

Mullin made the unusual decision to drop down two divisions to join Wrexham during the summer of 2021 and he turned down an offer to stay at Cambridge along with a host of Football League clubs.

Speaking at the time, he said: “The ambition of the club attracted me here. Rob McElhenney (Wrexham co-owner) gave me a call a couple of nights ago - at that time, I wasn't too sure about making the move. 

“But once he outlined the plans for the club, and the plans for me in the future, it was something I really wanted to be a part of and something that just excited me that much that I had to come.

"He really sold the club to me. What they have planned for the club is magnificent and something I want to be a part of."

Mullin proved to be an instant hit in his first season at the Racecourse Ground and his 26 goal season is documented during the early episodes of Welcome to Wrexham.

Despite Mullin’s goals, the Welsh club missed out on promotion through the play-offs after a rollercoaster 5-4 defeat to Grimsby Town.

Mullin continued where he left off the following season and fired in an incredible 38 goals from 46 matches. The figure would have been the highest in non-league history but it was remarkably topped the same season by Notts County forward Macaulay Langstaff who scored 42 goals.

How has Paul Mullin performed this season?

Wrexham are currently competing in the Football League for the first time since 2008 but fans have not yet seen much of Paul Mullin who missed the start of the season with a punctured lung.

The forward missed his side's opening six games, but made his long awaited return as a subsitute during a last gasp 2-1 victory at home to Doncaster Rovers.

Mullin faces fresh competition in attack from former Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday attacker Steven Fletcher who was signed this season and manager Phil Parkinson admitted it may be a while before he returns to full fitness.

Parkinson said: “Difficult question, but I thought he looked sharp when he came on. For 30 minutes he put in a really good shift for the team. He’s a fit lad.”