Leicester City
Summer Update: Defender sold to Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham from Leicester City.
Lewis Brunt made four senior appearances in his three seasons with Leicester City following a free transfer from Aston Villa in 2021
Leicester City have sold defender Lewis Brunt to League One side Wrexham in their first transfer of the summer.
Brunt departs after three years at King Power Stadium, having not quite managed to make the jump to the first team. Arriving on a free transfer from Aston Villa, the centre-back won the development squad player of the season in his first campaign at City, and went on to make make four senior appearances for the club, starting in FA Cup wins over Watford and Gillingham and coming off the bench in Premier League defeats to Tottenham and Nottingham Forest.
The 23-year-old spent last season on loan at Mansfield, performing well in the heart of defence and in a deep midfield role to help them to promotion out of League Two. But while the Stags were keen on making his move permanent, Brunt has instead joined fellow League One side Wrexham.
Brunt joins the Welsh outfit as they prepare for their first season in the third tier for 20 years following back-to-back promotions. The club’s fame and reputation has soared in recent seasons after they were taken over by American actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who have produced the documentary Welcome to Wrexham about their journey up the leagues.
While players have left City on free transfers this summer, this is the first deal the club have conducted to include a payment, with Brunt still under contract for another year. The fee is undisclosed, but it seems it was too much for Mansfield to pay.
Their manager Nigel Clough said last month: “We put a bid in that was rejected. We might be too far apart in terms of their valuation and what we can pay, unfortunately. But we are certainly not ruling it out and he remains our number one target.”
