Phil Parkinson can now fully focus on Wrexham’s on-pitch activities with the January transfer window now done and dusted.
As the clock struck 11pm on Monday night, Phil Parkinson may well have breathed a sigh of relief.
The January transfer window can be a hectic period; not only do you have to prepare your team for games, you also have to think about potential signings.
Wrexham haven’t exactly started 2025 in brilliant form but have now added three new faces to bolster Parkinson’s options.
Ryan Longman, Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez have all arrived, handing Parkinson some addition firepower to aid Wrexham’s promotion push.
Deadline day passed without another deal being done and Parkinson’s attention will be firmly on facing Port Vale on Tuesday night.
Phil Parkinson on Arthur Okonkwo
Wrexham at least came into deadline day off the back of a win.
Parkinson watched on as Wrexham found a 95th-minute winner to beat Crawley Town, securing a 2-1 win.
Parkinson had hinted at major changes to his lineup having witness a poor display in the 3-2 defeat to Stevenage.
The Wrexham boss wasn’t bluffing either; Ollie Palmer wasn’t even involved as Smith and Rodriguez immediately started.
The big news surrounded Arthur Okonkwo as the Wrexham stopper was benched in favour of Mark Howard.
Okonkwo recently returned from injury but has looked a little rusty having been on the sidelines for two months.
A poor night against Stevenage resulted in Okonkwo losing his place, something few could have expected for one of Wrexham’s most talented players.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Parkinson has now admitted that Okonkwo has ‘not been quite right’ ever since his return.
Parkinson has admitted making a mistake in pushing Okonkwo back into the starting XI too quickly.
The Wrexham boss suggested that Okonkwo ‘needed to come out’ with veteran Howard an able deputy.
“With Arthur, he’s not been quite right since he’s come back. We probably put him back in too soon and he probably needed to come out,” said Parkinson.
Parkinson left with EFL Trophy dilemma over Okonkwo
Okonkwo has been a star ever since joining Wrexham on loan from Arsenal in 2023 but this could be his biggest test yet.
The stopper needs to come back and find his form again but Parkinson is left with a dilemma tonight.
On the one hand, Parkinson feels that Okonkwo needs time out of the Wrexham side and he may stick to that by benching him in the EFL Trophy clash against Port Vale.
The flip side is that Okonkwo does still need match practice and a cup game which Wrexham will be favourites to win could be the ideal chance to build some confidence.
Brad Foster will be knocking on the door for a chance too but Parkinson must now decide whether Okonkwo is ready to make an impact again – or whether he needs more time on the bench.