Ben Tozer reveals just how sour it got behind the scenes upon leaving Cheltenham Town and dropping down two tiers for Wrexham.
The National League outfit have made yet another top signing, showing just how ambitious they are with their new Hollywood owners.
The player has since revealed how it was a deal he quite simply turn down, as per a report published by the Leader earlier this week.
Wrexham came in with a bid, which initially was ‘derisory’, however they have managed to get their centre-back, much to the frustration in some ways for the League One new boys Cheltenham.
Tozer, who is 31-years-old, has signed a three-year contract with Phil Parkinson’s side who have already signed a player in Paul Mullin, who also drops down two leagues in favour of helping Wrexham’s promotion push.
Tozer has opened up about the move: “What’s happened has happened. Unfortunately it seems to have gone a little bit sour between the club and whoever has made the decisions but at the end of the day, they knew what I wanted.
“Ultimately, the club never put a contract in front of me at all so nine months left on my contract compared to three years, it was an absolute no-brainer for my family first and foremost.
“Then when you start looking into the club and see what is going on, it is incredibly exciting.”
He reckons the transfer fee, believed to be around £200,000, was fair: “I think the offer is more than fair. I don’t think the first two offers that came in were right, I just got on with it and didn’t know if another offer was going to come in.
“It came in, that one was fair and it got done in the end.”
Michael Duff believes Cheltenham secured the best deal they possibly could have for Ben Tozer after the defender ‘made it clear’ he wanted to depart.
“It happens in football,” Duff said, speaking after the 1-1 draw at Burton Albion.
“Ben made it quite clear he didn’t want to play for the football club again.
“Myself and the board definitely didn’t want him to go, but he made a decision he wanted to go for his own reasons, which is absolutely fine.
“We think we got good money for him based on his age because he can walk out of his contract in four months for nothing as he’s in a different country.”
Duff admitted he was disappointed with the way the situation played out, but praised Tozer for his contribution for the club’s success over the past three years, which included a League Two title win last season.
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“Ultimately, hopefully people will look back on it fondly,” Duff said.
“It’s ended not particularly well, or nicely, but people can’t forget what he’s done for the football club.
“Footballers have to look after their own family. It could have been dealt with a little bit better and it should have been, but it won’t be the first time it’s happened in football.
“I am not going into why, but we didn’t want him to go and he wanted to go, end of. It’s a sign of doing well and there is nothing you can do.
“We had a figure in mind all the time and that’s probably the reason Ben felt he had to go the way he had to go.
“It didn’t affect our decision as our number was pretty much the same from the day it all started.
“It could have ended a little bit better because he didn’t need to do what he did.
“Once a player makes his mind up and he only has four months left technically, all you can do is maximise the money you do make out of him.
“I don’t think many League One clubs will sell a 31-year-old centre-half for £200,000, so we’ll take the positives out of it.”
Fans reacted before Ben Tozer reveals how sour it got behind the scenes leaving Cheltenham for Wrexham…
@GarethNiceguy: Welcome @tozer_ben this season is going to be something special!
@garethgiles20: Good luck to @tozer_ben you have one hell of a player
@deanrogers25: Great signing. Looking good!
@Hoppo101: All the best Toze. Top professional and played your part at Cheltenham.
@Floorit_nick: Fantastic signing yet again
@BenKirby78: Good luck Toze. Fantastic for us the last couple of years. Yes he has an incredible throw, but in a back three, was the organiser, playmaker…. And a fine leader on and off pitch.
@GododdinSoccer: Kerching!!
@1864wrexhamafc: Bigger than Ronaldo return
@gavlea82: Welcome to Wrexham!
@JamesIanChester: 15-16 years we’ve been mis managed, bled dry of profits, used as a feeder club to bigger teams poaching our talent, suffering 13 years at the bottom tier of the football ladder struggling to stay afloat, fans selling their houses raising ££ to save us. We deserve this
@RoadMold: I remember the days when we grew our own talent or found rough diamonds. Now we’re just throwing hundreds of thousands pounds at players. Great innit?
@antonyruston: Fair play to Wrexham, way too big a club for the conference, their fans have had it rough for years so good luck to them
@BillyCarrollGB: Wrexham are the new Salford
@BigDB88: True but at least Wrexham have fans
— Richard Ulrich 🏴 (@r77ulr) August 27, 2021
— Owen Thornley (@OwenThornley3) August 27, 2021
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