Wrexham are facing a striker crisis at the moment and Phil Parkinson has shares his thoughts on the development of Modou Faal.
A week ago, Wrexham fans were no doubt delighted with Phil Parkinson’s striking options.
Jack Marriott had enjoyed a superb start to the season, keeping Wrexham hero Paul Mullin out the starting lineup.
Ollie Palmer’s form had seen him earn a new deal, Steven Fletcher impressed Phil Parkinson against Stevenage and Modou Faal won the Man of the Match award against Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21’s.
All seemed well but Wrexham have been hit with a couple of major blows in recent days.
Marriott is facing four months out and Parkinson has now confirmed that Fletcher will be on the sidelines after an injury of his own.
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Phil Parkinson on Modou Faal
Mullin and Palmer will need to carry most of the workload but Parkinson may now go back on his free agent signing stance.
Asking Faal to step up as third choice may be a little too much at this stage in his development.
Wrexham signed Faal on deadline day, paying up to land him from West Bromwich Albion as a prospect for the future.
The plan will have been for Faal to learn from four experienced strikers and eventually step up as a first-team star.
Well, two of those experienced strikers are now injured and Faal suddenly finds himself within touching distance of League One football.
This is not how Wrexham expected the striking ranks to look but Parkinson has offered some praise for Faal after bringing him on against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night.
Parkinson has told Match Day Live on Wrexham’s official YouTube channel that Faal is faring well in training and getting used to the intensity required at Wrexham.
Parkinson added that Faal is a superb finisher and really wants to score goals from close range, believing that he is learning so much from the strikers around him.
“Mo’s getting there with us in training, understanding the intensity we need him to train at,” said Parkinson.
“One thing about Mo is that he can finish. He wants to get in that six-yard box and score. We’re getting him fitter, we’re getting him stronger and he’s learning from some very good strikers in the club already,” he added.
Faal needed even if a free agent arrives
Wrexham have been dealt two attacking blows in recent days and Parkinson will be cursing his luck right now.
Free agents may well be explored by Wrexham in the coming days but Faal will still need to step up.
Any free agent would arrive having not had a full pre-season and having not played competitive football since last season.
A signing would take a while to truly get up to speed and that means Faal will be relied upon even if a signing is made.
This is a big ask for Faal, who has never played at League One level before, but Parkinson will be hoping that the work in training pays off in the coming weeks and months.