Many expected Wrexham to spend big this summer, but the Dragons might even be defying expectations.
Just last week, Wrexham paid £10 million to sign Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich Town in a club record deal, having already spent big on the likes of Lewis O’Brien, Liberato, Cacace, Kieffer Moore and Conor Coady before that.
And next up, it looks as though Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac want to spend big on another player. Reports indicate that Wrexham are close to signing Callum Doyle in an £8 million deal, and should he arrive, it would take the Wrexham’s summer spending to well over £30 million.
But that’s not all. Welsh international Jordan James has now come onto Wrexham’s radar. The former Birmingham City midfielder could leave Ligue 1 club Rennes after just one season in France.
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Rob Page is a huge fan of Wrexham transfer target Jordan James
Coming through the ranks at Birmingham City, James spent three years with the Blues first team, making 105 total appearances before earning an exciting move to Rennes in France last summer. But in 25 total appearances last season, James managed to score just one goal, compared to eight goals in the 42 championship games in the 2023/24 season.
Emerging reports this week have revealed that Wrexham now want to sign James from Rennes and bring him to North Wales as part of their summer revolution. And Wrexham fans may know all about James already from his promising performances on the international stage.
Former Wales boss Rob Page in particular was a huge fan of James. After a 2-0 victory over Latvia in 2023, Rob Page sung James’ praises after the game, saying: “I hope everybody’s talking about JJ’s performance. Every time he has stepped up with us he has trained with personality and that is what I ask all the young players to do: make an impression, and he did from day one, just in his body language, how he is around the place, the way he trains.”
Then again in May 2024, Page once again hailed James’ abilities, even labelling him as a top international midfielder: “I think he has proven at top international level, against top midfielders in Croatia, to name one team, [that] he is more than capable of playing at that level as a six.”
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How much Wrexham would have to pay for Jordan James
Not only is James experienced in the Championship with 95 games in the second tier, as well as being experienced on the international stage with 20 international caps, he’s also still a very young player at 21 years old, and he’d also come quite cheap for Phil Parkinson’s side.
Providing no other teams get seriously involved and bump up the price, Rennes are only wanting £4.3 million to sell James this summer. Last summer, Rennes paid £4 million to sign the Welshman, and so it’s a minor increase on what the club paid for his services.
For Wrexham, having already spent £10 million on Broadhead, and soon £8 million on Doyle, a further £4 million on James could be a big ask of the owners.
But if there’s money to spend then £4 million on James could well prove to be one of the bargains of the summer in the entire Championship, let alone for Wrexham.
He’d bring overall quality to the midfield, with defensive abilities and attacking qualities too, and as a Welsh international, it could be a great fit for James and for the fans too.