WREXHAM, Wales — Sam Smith, the striker who’s been lighting up the pitch for Wrexham AFC, isn’t shy about his love for the club. “It’s like no other,” he said after a match earlier this month, his words dripping with the kind of pride you only get from a place that’s got its hooks in you. The 27-year-old, who swapped Reading for Wrexham in January for a club-record £2 million, has been a revelation, banging in goals and winning hearts in this scrappy, Hollywood-backed Welsh outfit. His latest heroics—two goals in a 3-0 rout of Charlton Athletic on April 26—sealed Wrexham’s third straight promotion, a feat no English club in the top five tiers has ever pulled off.
Smith’s journey to Wrexham wasn’t a straight line. He came up through Reading’s youth ranks, had two spells there, and notched 16 goals in 37 games last season to keep the Royals afloat. This year, he was on fire again—11 goals in 26 appearances—before Reading’s ownership mess made his exit a no-brainer. Wrexham, flush with cash from owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, didn’t hesitate. They splashed out, and Smith signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with an option for another year. “A special feeling,” he called it, scoring his first home goal at the Racecourse Ground on his birthday, March 8, a 1-0 win over Rotherham United.
The man’s a machine—or, as one teammate put it, a “beast.” His first goal against Charlton was a stunner, a first-half volley that screamed past the keeper and sent the Stok Cae Ras into a frenzy. Two minutes earlier, Ollie Rathbone had opened the scoring, but it was Smith’s “kung-fu” finish—his words, not ours—that had Reynolds, watching from the director’s box, grinning like a kid. The second goal, a guided header off a Max Cleworth cross late in the game, was just icing. Wrexham were Championship-bound, and the fans, thousands strong, stormed the pitch, red flares blazing, Welsh flags waving.
Smith’s not just about the goals. He’s clicked with the squad, feeding off strike partner Steven Fletcher’s assists and gelling with Jay Rodriguez, another January signing. Against Burton Albion on April 5, he was the difference-maker in another 3-0 win, his two moments of brilliance pushing Wrexham closer to the second tier. Even in a 2-2 draw at Cambridge United on March 31, he rescued a point with a late strike. “Hungry and aggressive,” he said of the team’s mindset after a 1-0 win at Wycombe Wanderers on March 15, where his deflected volley clinched the game.
Wrexham’s rise is the stuff of legend. From non-league to the Championship in three seasons, they’ll host the likes of Leicester and Southampton next year. The last time they rubbed shoulders with second-tier clubs was 1982. Smith, who’s started every league game since joining, knows he’s part of something bigger. “There’s more to come,” he said after facing Reading, his old club, on March 11. He didn’t score that day, but his work rate had the fans chanting his name.
The numbers don’t lie: Smith has six goals in his last 10 games for Wrexham. His transfer fee, once a gamble, now looks like a steal. The club’s official announcement on January 31 called him “a key signing” for their promotion push. They weren’t wrong.