It has been a very quiet transfer deadline day for Wrexham, which is not surprising, but Ollie Palmer’s decision to stay at the club has sparked some debate.
When looking at the potential deals Wrexham could do on deadline day, we knew Ollie Palmer would probably be the main talking point.
The veteran striker has been under scrutiny of late, with many suggesting he should leave Wrexham as his struggles in front of goal continue.
However, despite interest in his services, it would appear Palmer will remain at Wrexham for now. But, is that the right call?
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Wrexham shouldn’t have given Ollie Palmer a new contract
While ‘multiple clubs’ were looking at Palmer in January, the iconic Wrexham man will almost certainly remain part of Phil Parkinson’s squad for the rest of the season unless anything changes before the 11pm deadline.
The Rob Ryan Red podcast took to Twitter/X to discuss the fact Parkinson will now have seven strikers in his Wrexham squad, thanks to the addition of Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez last week.
Among the replies, there were plenty of fans calling for Palmer to be shown the door. One supporter said: “No time for sentiment, if he’s not good enough, let him go. The club is evolving, we needed an upgrade on Palmer, and we got one.”
Another added: “Can’t blame Palmer if wants to sit on his contract and get his money. Said at the time, giving him a extended contract made zero sense at all.” Palmer was handed a contract extension back in October that will run through to June 2026.
Other fans said it’s “time for Palmer to move on” and suggested he should go out on loan to get game time. Meanwhile, another supporter added: “The issue with Palmer is that he’s on a decent wage, and his whole clothing brand is Wrexham. He probably needs to time adapt the brand away.”
However, some fans believe Palmer deserves better. One said: “[He’s] played a lot of games this season to be fair to him. Ok I get we’ve signed two new strikers but you can’t just show him the door… he has a contract and personally I’m glad he’s not going to be leaving the club.”
Another agreed, adding: “Ollie deserves more than being shown the door part way through a potentially promotion-winning season. His impact on our back-to-back promotion-winning campaigns can’t be understated. Allow him the ability to have a say in our possible promotion and let him leave on his terms.”
Losing Ollie Palmer now would be a risk, but summer exit would be wise
In fairness, Ollie Palmer is a Wrexham legend thanks to his contributions over the last few years, and it would be a shame to shove him out now.
We know Palmer is keen to retire at Wrexham one day, but that is sadly looking less and less likely. It may be that he has to pursue that move to the MLS eventually.
Still, keeping a player how can be so influential and who is such a big figure in the dressing room is not a bad thing for Wrexham as they chase promotion.
Come the summer, Palmer’s role at Wrexham will be far less significant. If the Red Dragons do go up, he would be way out of his depth in the Championship, while if they miss out on promotion, Parkinson will need to refresh his roster and move some players on.
Time is ticking for Palmer, but he deserves the next six months to sign off in style.