After a busy summer in the transfer market, all eyes will be on Wrexham’s new signings this weekend, but will any of them actually feature against Southampton?
Funnily enough, Wrexham had a slow start to the summer transfer window, but they’ve well and truly kicked into gear now.
We have eight new Wrexham signings to be excited about, with Kieffer Moore likely to be next through the door in the coming days.
Phil Parkinson now has a much stronger squad with a lot of depth, which means he has some very tough decisions to make this weekend (and beyond). So, who will be given their debut versus Southampton?
Wrexham could hand debuts to seven new signings
Realistically, there is at least one player we can almost certainly rule out when it comes to getting their debut appearance this weekend, and that’s Danny Ward. The veteran goalkeeper is unlikely to oust Arthur Okonkwo any time soon.
Liberato Cacace will also struggle to force his way into the starting line-up straight away, with club captain James McClean almost guaranteed to lead the way in the season opener.
The rest of Wrexham’s summer signings have every chance of getting the nod, though.
Conor Coady is a top quality addition and would immediately make the Wrexham defence stronger. Given they’re playing a team that’s just dropped down from the Premier League, it may be wise to put him straight into the side.
The midfield places will be a very interesting area for Parkinson this season, with a number of players fighting for the two deeper roles there. Record signing Lewis O’Brien will surely be included from the start, but George Thomason may have to settle for a place on the bench in favour of a more experienced head like Matty James or George Dobson.
We’d suggest Josh Windass is the most obvious candidate to be given his debut of the lot, though. With Ollie Rathbone injured and Elliot Lee seemingly dropping down the pecking order, Parkinson needs some creativity and Windass is by far the most useful signing he’s made this summer.
We could also see Ryan Hardie start the game against Southampton, especially if Sam Smith is still struggling for fitness.
Phil Parkinson was reluctant to use new players last season
One thing to bear in mind with all this, however, is that Phil Parkinson historically isn’t keen to throw in new faces from the get go.
Last summer, Wrexham signed 12 new players. For the opening game of the League One campaign against Wycombe Wanderers, Parkinson started just two: George Dobson and Arthur Okonkwo, with the latter already having been at the club the season previous on loan.
It does make sense, really. These new players have had less time to train with the squad, and Parkinson is an old-school manager who likes to keep faith in the trusted figures in his team.
Don’t be surprised to see a similar approach against Southampton, with perhaps only Josh Windass and Lewis O’Brien given the start.