What has happened to Paul Mullin? From Deadpool star to EFL Trophy penalty pain - Wrexham's iconic striker faces missing out on League One promotion push after season to forget

In the summer of 2021, Mullin was coming off the back of the most prolific season of his career, after netting 32 times in 46 appearances as Cambridge United secured promotion to League One. He was offered a new contract at the Abbey Stadium but decided against signing it, and rather than go up a tier with Cambridge, he opted instead to drop down to the non-league ranks by joining Wrexham.

It was an undoubted gamble, but it paid off spectacularly. After joining the massive supporting cast of 'Welcome to Wrexham', Mullin's life would never be the same again.

"It’s been a whirlwind," Mullin told The Mirror in December. "I came here to play football and for people who don’t support Wrexham to recognise you from the documentary felt a bit strange. But luckily I did well enough on the pitch for the embarrassment to turn into pride and the whole story has been phenomenal. I don't think you could have written it any better if you were writing a film screenplay!"

The question now, though, is whether the classic 'rags-to-riches' story will include a happy ending for him.

The 2024-25 season has not gone well at all for Mullin. Wrexham sit third in the League One standings, 14 points behind runaway leaders Birmingham City but just two off Wycombe Wanders in the second automatic promotion spot. However, Mullin's contribution to the cause has been negligible - which would have been unthinkable even just a few months ago.

Injury issues haven't helped. Mullin missed the start of the season as he was still recovering from surgery tied to a "long-term lower-back/hamstring issue".

"He's a naturally fit lad and I don't think it will be long to get back and start knocking on the door saying he's ready," manager Phil Parkinson said last August. "I've talked to him and the operation has done its trick and feels so much better, and so it was the right decision to go ahead with it. Touch wood, if there's no problems with it, I envisage he'll be back sooner rather than later."

Mullin made his eagerly-awaited return as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Reading on August 24 and was eased back into action over the next few weeks, before being restored to the starting line-up against Crawley Town almost exactly a month later.

When he bagged his first goal of the season while completing 90 minutes for the first time since his operation, against Rotherham on October 19, the expectation was that he would kick on from there. He didn't, though.

Mullin offered a spectacular reminder of his quality with a stunning strike against Blackpool on Boxing Day that drew online praise from Reynolds, but it's arguably been the only real highlight in an otherwise gloomy period in the 30-year-old's stellar spell at Wrexham.

Indeed, Mullin has managed just three goals in League One this season and, worse still, after being sidelined for the return clash with Crawley at the start of the month with a shin problem, he's been left out of the match squad completely for three of Wrexham's last four league games - and didn't even get off the bench in the other.

Mullin was introduced as a substitute in the EFL Trophy semi-final clash with Peterborough, but even that appearance ended in disappointment, as he missed a penalty in his side's shootout loss that led to them missing out on a trip to Wembley.

Unsurprisingly, Mullin's situation has become a major talking point among pundits and supporters.

"He needed a goal, and then he got one when he hit a joke of a goal [against Blackpool] and you think 'here we go', but it just doesn’t seem to be happening for him," legendary Wrexham striker Andy Morrell told the Fearless In Devotion podcast.

"I saw him get chucked into a barrier at Barnsley and he came back on and he was angry. He was annoyed, but he ran harder than I’ve seen him run, he was getting in behind, he was a threat, he was putting himself about. He looked a bit p*ssed off and that’s the Mullin we know and love, who gets stuck in and really gives the defence a problem. For that half an hour, I thought he was back, but then we don't see it again in the next game. I don’t know what it is. Is it just confidence at this level?"

There was an understandable presumption that Mullin would have no issue making the step up to League One given his sustained success at Wrexham, and he still firmly believes that he can emulate Leicester City legend Jamie Vardy, who went from non-league football to Premier League title-winner during a remarkable career that is incredibly still going.

However, it is worth noting that Mullin had only previously played in the third tier with Tranmere Rovers in 2019-20 and scored just three times that year. Consequently, former England international Carlton Palmer is among those who fears that Mullin's time at Wrexham could draw to a close this summer - especially if they secure promotion to the Championship.

"He is under contract until 2027, but as you're coming up the leagues, you have to look at where your standard is," the former Mansfield Town manager told Football League World. "I think it’s probably likely Wrexham will have a conversation with Mullin in the summer and say to him that it's better that he moves on. If they get promotion, that would be a step too far for him.

"We will have to wait and see what happens, but even when he has started, he hasn't been as prolific as he previously was. The standard gets higher as you go up, the defending gets better, and sentiment goes out of football very quickly, even though he is an icon at Wrexham."

The man himself is remaining upbeat, with Mullin shrugging off the sudden speculation surrounding his form and future just last month.

"It makes me laugh to be honest!" he told Sky Sports. "I've probably become a victim of my own success. You have a season where you don't score as many and all of a sudden people start to panic, like I've forgotten how to kick a ball or something.

"But as long as we're winning games, it doesn't matter if I score or not. If I didn't score once more between now and the end of the season and we got promoted, I'd still be happy. It's a privilege to have that expectation because it shows how successful I've been before."

There's certainly no tarnishing his achievements at The Racecourse Ground, no matter what happens between now and the end of the season. Mullin's legendary status is already secure. However, since he spoke to Sky, Wrexham have strengthened their squad with the signing of two high-profile strikers in Jay Rodriguez and Sam Smith, which is why Mullin is now struggling to even claim a seat on the bench for league games.

It would be foolish to write him off just yet, of course. All good things come to an end, but Mullin's time at Wrexham has been nothing if not dramatic, and there might yet be one final twist in the tale before he rides off into the sunset.