Wrexham head into the summer transfer window with more question marks between the sticks as Phil Parkinson prepares for life in League One.
Arthur Okonkwo had a simply outstanding season on loan at Wrexham having been brought in from Arsenal.
Okonkwo’s loan spell is now over but Wrexham are ‘desperate’ to sign him permanently according to executive director Humphrey Ker.
The Arsenal talent is out of contract this summer and looks set to generate major interest, so Wrexham face a real battle. Even beyond Okonkwo, there are question marks in Wrexham’s goalkeeping ranks.
Rob Lainton and Mark Howard are both out of contract this summer and Wrexham need to decide whether to keep them or move on.
This has been a common theme for Wrexham, who were plunged into needing another goalkeeper just weeks into the start of last season.
Okonkwo was the man who came in, joining on loan for the season after the sudden retirement of Ben Foster.
Ben Foster on Wrexham retirement
Foster made an emotional return to Wrexham in 2023 having previously turned out for the club as a loanee back in 2005.
Having gone on to become a Premier League regular and England international, Foster’s arrival was a major moment – especially as he came out of retirement to make it happen.
Foster helped Wrexham win promotion from the National League, famously saving a key penalty from Notts County striker Cedwyn Scott.
League Two was a little trickier though as Wrexham and Foster leaked 13 goals in the first four games of the League Two season.
After a 5-5 draw with Swindon Town, Foster decided to hang up his gloves again – and has now opened up on what he told Parkinson upon calling it a day.
Speaking to Disney+ on season three, episode two of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, Foster admitted that he knew he was finished straight after that game.
Foster sensed disappointment in the Wrexham ranks and had a moment of looking at his own performance, accepting that it wasn’t good enough.
Foster went straight to Parkinson and told him that he was retiring, believing that he was letting Wrexham down as he was simply conceding ‘too many’ goals in League Two.
What Foster said…
“So, even though we had drawn, the lads were quiet and they weren’t happy because they knew something was wrong,” said Foster. “They knew that the performance wasn’t what it should be and this might sound selfish but I was thinking just about my own circumstance at that moment in time, because I knew enough was enough and I knew I was done.”
“I was thinking about how to tell the manager, how to tell the coaching staff and I was just sort of thinking about it… just, ‘What shall I do? Shall I do it now? Shall I ring somebody tomorrow? Shall I tell them on Monday?’.
“I thought ‘no, I’m just gonna go and tell them’. I went into the coach’s room and I said ‘That’s me done lads, that’s me done. I’m letting you down, I’m not up to speed, I’m not what I thought I am and I don’t want to keep letting you down’, because I think at that point we had let in 14 goals or something for the season in four games, and it was too many… it was too many,” he added.
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Ryan Reynolds and Shaun Harvey on Foster
That threw a spanner in the works for Wrexham and forced the move for Okonkwo, but it was better to know before the transfer deadline than after it.
Foster was praised for his decision having realised that the time was right to leave and allow Wrexham to bring in somebody else before it was too late.
Director Shaun Harvey felt that Foster simply realised he was getting older and couldn’t reach the performance levels from earlier in his career.
Harvey felt that Foster ultimately made the ‘right decision’ – for himself and for Wrexham.
“From Ben’s perspective, I think it was the dawn of reality that he was getting older,” said Harvey. “To be honest, it was the right decision – it was the right decision for Ben and in reality, it was the right decision for Wrexham as well.”
Ryan Reynolds also praised Foster, believing that his decision was ‘incredibly generous’ as he put Wrexham before himself in that moment.
Reynolds feels that many people just don’t know when to call it quits but Foster knew he had to step away.
“I thought it was generous. Like, it was an incredibly generous thing to do. So few people know when to call it,” said Reynolds.
Foster will always be welcome back at the STōK Cae Ras and his role in the promotion from the National League will never be forgotten.
It’s now time for Wrexham to land another goalkeeper this summer and if it isn’t Okonkwo, let’s just hope that the new signing has a similar kind of impact.