Welcome to Wrexham season four has now dropped, and it included a very interesting line on a certain 2024 signing.
Wrexham’s 2024/25 season could’ve gone one of two ways: anything less than promotion might have felt like a disappointment, but promotion would’ve been an unthinkable achievement.
In the end, Wrexham finished 2nd in League One and have earned a third-straight promotion under owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, making history in the process.
Phil Parkinson has earned huge praise for his role at the club over the last few years. But he’ll be the first to thank his players and pin promotion on them, in what was a really gruelling League One campaign.
Last summer’s signings and indeed the January signings played a huge role. In January, Wrexham paid £2million to sign Sam Smith who scored some vital goals in the run in, becoming the club’s record signing in the process.
Maybe one underrated signing though has been that of Arthur Okonkwo.
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Phil Parkinson urged Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to sign Arthur Okonkwo at Wrexham
Wrexham signed Okonkwo on a permanent deal last summer after the shot-stopper had spent the previous season on loan from Arsenal. The 23-year-old kept 19 clean sheets in 33 League One games in 2024/25 (the second most of any goalkeeper), having signed a contract at the Racecourse until the summer of 2027.
Speaking on Welcome to Wrexham season four, Parkinson revealed how he told owners McElhenney and Reynolds that the ‘one player’ they should invest in was Okonkwo. Parkinson explained: “I said to Rob and Ryan the one player who would be a huge investment for the club is Arthur. Of course, there’s going to be a number of clubs vying for his signature.”
Wrexham won the race for Okonkwo and he’s proved to be a very shrewd signing since. If he can impress in the Championship next season, which many will back him to do, then he could become a very valuable asset for the club in the transfer market.
Max Cleworth hails Arthur Okonkwo after ‘another fantastic season’ with Wrexham
It’s easy to forget how young Okonkwo is given how good he is, and he’s especially young for a goalkeeper too. But he’s one of the growing number of players that Parkinson can really build a future Wrexham team around, along with defender Max Cleworth.
Cleworth has won the club’s Young Player of the Season award for a second year in a row and speaking after accepting the award, Cleworth hailed Okonkwo’s performances for Wrexham, saying: “Arthur’s unbelievable. I think he’s he’s the best keeper in the league. The amount of times he sort of saves us, it’s a lot and you know I thought sort of thank him for that because he’s a top goalie, but even more sort of a top lad.
“We have a good relationship on and off the pitch and I think we know each other’s games really well. He’s had another fantastic season and it’s a pleasure to play alongside.”
It was clear after the 2023/24 season how much potential Okonkwo had. It’s proved a very good signing for Wrexham and a good recommendation from Parkinson, who will no doubt look for some similar signings in this summer’s transfer window.