Wrexham fans will want to thank plenty of players for securing promotion this season, but Max Cleworth might just have been the standout performer of the whole lot.
It has been yet another season to celebrate for Wrexham, who managed to secure an historic third-successive promotion by finishing second in League One.
The Red Dragons can look forward to life in the Championship under Phil Parkinson now, and it’s a tantalising thought to anticipate how they will fare in the second tier.
Max Cleworth is a player that has been on the journey with Wrexham since the National League days, and he’s improved vastly over the years, too.
How Max Cleworth can become Phil Parkinson’s most-used Wrexham player
It’s been a phenomenal rise for Wrexham and for Cleworth, and he is now within touching distance of claiming a surprising and very impressive record for the club.
Turns out, as of right now, Cleworth has made 142 appearances for Wrexham, going back to the start of the 2021/22 campaign, which was Parkinson’s first full season in charge.
That puts the young defender fourth in the list for appearance-makers under Parkinson, behind Elliot Lee (149), Ollie Palmer (155), and Paul Mullin (172).
Given how Parkinson has praised Cleworth time and time again this season, and the pivotal role he plays in the side, it’s very likely he will be able to rack up more than 30 appearances next term.
His crucial status for Wrexham, twinned with Elliot Lee’s less substantial role, and the likely departures of Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer, means that Cleworth will surely end up at the top of this particular pile at some point in the 2025/26 campaign.
Obviously, there is the caveat that Mullin and Palmer need to move on and Lee needs to play a peripheral role, but those circumstances seem destined to transpire over the course of the next 12 months.
Regardless, Cleworth will more than likely still achieve the aforementioned feat, and to do that by the age of 23 would be very impressive indeed.
Max Cleworth has been a shining light for Wrexham this season
In truth, there has been no better, more consistent player for Wrexham this season than Cleworth, and the fact he is doing it all for his boyhood club just makes it all the more special.
He’s racked up 48 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring eight goals and adding three assists, all from defence.
| Statistics | Max Cleworth 2024/25 |
| Games | 48 |
| Minutes | 4,158 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 3 |
| Clean sheets | 23 |
It’s no surprise, then, that Cleworth was named in the League One team of the season, and was also crowned Wrexham’s Player of the Year.
Of all the players in the Wrexham squad currently, Cleworth is the one who has the potential to slot seamlessly into the standard of football in the Championship, and we can’t wait to see how he develops next term.