Former Wrexham striker Paul Mullin made his first appearance for Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon, taking on non-league side Chorley.
Wrexham’s pre-season schedule kicks off on Friday morning as Phil Parkinson takes his side over to Australia.
Melbourne Victory will be the first opponents before Wrexham take on Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix.
Many other clubs have already started their pre-season fixtures, with Wigan Athletic being one of them.
The Latics faced Chorley on Saturday afternoon and unleashed new signing Paul Mullin for the first time.
Wigan signed Mullin from Wrexham in June, securing the striker on a season-long loan deal after sliding down Phil Parkinson’s pecking order.
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Ryan Lowe on Paul Mullin’s Wigan debut
Wrexham fans said a painful goodbye to Mullin, who may only be on loan, but looks unlikely to ever play for the club again.
Mullin will go down as a Wrexham hero and supporters will still keep tabs on the striker during his time away from the STōK Cae Ras.
Saturday brought Mullin’s first appearance for Wigan, as he started against non-league Chorley at Victory Park.
Wigan won the game 2-1, but Mullin couldn’t find the net in his 45-minute run-out.
Pre-season is all about fitness and Mullin may take some time to find his best form again, having spent most of 2025 in the stands at Wrexham.
Latics boss Ryan Lowe spoke to Wigan’s official YouTube channel after Saturday’s win and admitted that Mullin showed some rustiness.
Lowe believes Mullin could have had a couple of goals on another day, believing that the goals will come for him down the line.
“Look, it’s a run-out and it’s always nice when you win, it’s always nice when you’re scoring goals,” said Lowe.
“We could have been a little bit more tidy in the first half, maybe a few players are trying to do a little bit too much, too soon. The first-half performance was okay, I thought in the first 30 minutes, we were excellent.
“Mulls had a few good chances, a little bit of rustiness in there. On another day, he puts two of them in,” he added.
Paul Mullin’s pre-season fixtures at Wigan Athletic
Mullin won’t be too disheartened after not scoring on Saturday, especially as he was only on the pitch for 45 minutes.
The Wrexham loanee needs minutes in order to show his best form again, and that will come over pre-season.
Wigan now head off to Spain, visiting the Campoamor training base over the coming week.
Non-league side Curzon Ashton will face Wigan on 12 July before the Latics head home for more fixtures.
Accrington Stanley and Tranmere Rovers face Wigan before the League One season kicks off.
By the time Mullin faces Northampton Town on the opening day, he will hope to have plenty of minutes in the locker and bags of confidence entering the new season, with Wrexham fans cheering him on from afar.
