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Striker Bailey Cadamarteri has had a difficult beginning to his time at Wrexham after arriving at the club on the final day of the winter transfer window.
Wrexham forked out $1.35 million (£1 million) to acquire the 20-year-old from Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday, with the club viewing him as a long-term asset for their project rather than an immediate first-team solution.
Expectations are already building that Cadamarteri will see significantly more action next season, as he currently sits behind both Kieffer Moore and Sam Smith in the attacking hierarchy. He is set to feature prominently during pre-season preparations and could even earn some minutes in the closing stages of the EFL Championship campaign should Wrexham fall short of securing a playoff berth.
Cadamarteri will need to bide his time, and his father recently took to social media to hint that a loan departure could be on the cards this summer if "his fortunes don't change." He has gone from earning regular playing time at a struggling Sheffield Wednesday to a backup role under Phil Parkinson, accumulating just 46 minutes across three outings since his February 2 arrival.
Phil Parkinson Explains Cadamarteri Role
Since arriving from Sheffield Wednesday, Cadamarteri has made just three substitute appearances in the league, while also sitting on the bench as an unused substitute on seven occasions and being left out of the matchday squad entirely twice.
The main factor behind his limited involvement is the stiff competition for the lone striker role, where he is up against the vastly experienced Moore, 33, and fan favourite Smith, 28. With just two goals in 33 appearances this season at the age of 20, it comes as little surprise that the Jamaican international has yet to fully win over Parkinson's confidence.
A comparable situation has unfolded for fellow January signing Davis Keillor-Dunn, who has managed only five league outings since his £2 million move from Barnsley. The 28-year-old is vying with Josh Windass, Nathan Broadhead, and Ollie Rathbone for an attacking midfield berth and was brought in primarily as a squad depth option rather than an immediate starter.
Bailey Cadamerteri's 2025–26 Statistics
Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Appearances | 3 |
Minutes Played | 46 |
Goals Scored | 0 |
Expected Goals (xG) | 0.17 |
"I think with that, when we bring players in, it was never to replace anybody, it was to allow other players to move on whose futures were elsewhere," Parkinson told Sports Illustrated.
"The lads who have been in the team have done well. Sam Smith has had an unbelievable second part of the season, Broady (Nathan Broadhead), until a couple of little things that have affected him recently with slight injuries. Josh (Windass) has scored goals.
"So players in those positions have done well and that's the way it happens. Those two may get an opportunity and if they do, then it is up to them to take it."
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Rich Fay is a Sports Illustrated freelance writer covering Wrexham AFC. He was born in Wrexham and raised in North Wales, but spent nine years covering Manchester United and Manchester City for the Manchester Evening News and National World. Rich is also the co-host of the RobRyanRed Wrexham podcast and featured in the Welcome to Wrexham docuseries. When he is not at matches, he is a keen hiker as well as a cook, and thinks he would do surprisingly well on the Great British Bake Off.