Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson is in constant dialogue with player agents as the summer transfer window rumbles on. So far though, signings have been rather minimal.
There’s plenty going on in the summer transfer market. Teams like Preston have already signed six new players, whilst others like Leicester City haven’t signed a single player yet.
Wrexham have so far signed two: Ryan Hardie and Danny Ward. Last week, Ward signed for Wrexham on a free transfer, though it was a signing that split opinion among Wrexham fans online.
But there’s no end of players linked with Wrexham this summer and it could be a matter of days before we see another new name arrive at the Racecourse ahead of the 2025/26 Championship season.
For Phil Parkinson though, wading through the transfer market could prove difficult this summer, and in large part thanks to their own success, and their ambitious spending, combined with Birmingham City’s spending.
- READ MORE: ‘Unbelievable’ player who Wrexham are desperate to sign could now seal stunning move to Man United
Phil Parkinson says Wrexham and Birmingham City’s spending has distorted the Championship
Birmingham City have ambitious plans this summer, and in fairness they’ve made a strong start to the transfer window with some exciting names having arrived at St Andrew’s so far. Last summer, Birmingham City smashed the League One transfer record with the £14million signing of Jay Stansfield and the club has just spent £10million on Kyogo Furuhashi.
Meanwhile, Wrexham have a £25million transfer budget this summer, and the club is ready to spend up to £30,000-a-week on player wags too, per reports. Speaking from Australia, Parkinson explained to ESPN how Championship teams are having to spend more this summer, because they know Birmingham City and Wrexham are going to do so.
The Dragons boss said: “There was a lot of teams that spent a lot of money… and the level went up. Everyone was saying it was the hardest League One for years. And now with us and Birmingham getting promoted into the Championship, a lot of the agents are saying teams are spending more money because they know that Birmingham and Wrexham are going to spend in the transfer market.”
This idea is nothing new, Wrexham’s rivals have already said it
The idea that Wrexham and Birmingham City have almost ‘distorted’ the Championship and its spending habits isn’t something new: it’s already been discussed by Portsmouth chief executive Andy Cullen, and likely by many others behind the scenes in the Championship.
Speaking earlier this summer, Cullen explained how Wrexham and Birmingham City have affected the Championship, saying: “The promoted teams is going to be another issue which could potentially distort the league, we understand that.
“Birmingham would have been really strong financially whichever league they were in last season. They blew League One away in terms of the points they achieved and they spent well.”
So for Wrexham, and indeed Birmingham City, whilst there might be big spending budgets available – Parkinson’s Wrexham can spend £39million this summer and remain within PSR guidelines – they could prove to be not big enough, with Championship clubs spending more, and teams likely to up the prices of players knowing that Championship clubs are having to spend more.
It could prove a costly summer for all in the second tier, Wrexham included.