Wrexham enjoyed a busy summer transfer window but one signing stood out from the crowd after promotion from League Two.
Phil Parkinson was under no illusions.
A second straight promotion was an incredible achievement for Wrexham but League One was going to be a big ask.
Going from the National League to League One in such rapid fashion meant Wrexham needed major reinforcements to bolster Parkinson’s options.
The summer proved to be a busy one as eight new signings were made before the transfer deadline with Wrexham spending around £2million on new faces.
Wrexham have even managed to make a signing outside of the window with Josh Adam arriving on a free transfer earlier this week.
Rob McElhenney on Arthur Okonkwo transfer
The biggest addition of the summer was arguably the signing of goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo.
Okonkwo spent last season on loan from Arsenal and was simply sensational as Wrexham won promotion to League One.
After speculation over Okonkwo’s future, Wrexham secured a real coup by signing Okonkwo on a permanent basis.
Andy Morrell couldn’t believe Wrexham had pulled off a deal and Parkinson highlighted the importance of bringing Okonkwo back to the STōK Cae Ras permanently.
Wrexham fans were on cloud nine after that first signing of the summer and McElhenney has now opened up on just how it materialised.
Speaking to Men in Blazers, McElhenney admitted having a ‘very long conversation’ with Okonwko after Wrexham’s season ended.
McElhenney noted that he didn’t need to sell Okonkwo on the Wrexham project, but urged him to speak to other players about their experiences of being at the club.
Okonkwo was convinced and signed on the dotted line, committing his future to the Wrexham project for the years to come.
“I had a very long conversation with Arthur, very quickly after the season was over, some time in May,” said McElhenney. “All the players, they only have a few weeks off, so they scatter to the wind very quickly and he was on vacation with his family. I just asked if I could speak with him and I wound up speaking with him for a couple of hours.
“We also had the benefit of Arthur signing with us last year, so he spent a good amount of time in Wrexham. It was less about telling him all the things that we were going to do, because he saw them in action. It was more encouraging him to speak to the other players and to Phil, and to ask them… are we putting our money where our mouth is or are we just blowing hot air?
“Thankfully, after speaking with me for quite a while, and I kind of laid out for him how I saw this year going, or the next few years going, that would be different from what he’s already seen, I implored him to speak to the players and see what their experience has been like and thankfully, within 24 hours, he signed,” he added.
Wrexham giving Okonkwo a great platform
Okonkwo’s agent described the Wrexham move as ‘brilliant’ and that has certainly played out.
Wrexham have now kept four clean sheets in a row in League One with Okonkwo a key man throughout that run.
This platform of starting regularly in a solid team who are in the spotlight is certainly working well for Okonkwo.
Reports this weeks suggest that Okonkwo has held talks with Nigeria over a potential International call-up.
Okonkwo has previously featured for England at youth level but Nigeria are now pushing to call him up on the senior stage.
Jacob Mendy has credited Wrexham and the increased exposure of being at the club as a reason for his call-up with The Gambia.
Okonkwo may well go the same way now as his Wrexham excellence brings potential international football.