Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney has previously spoken about a key ambition at the Premier League club, one that could hamper Wrexham’s chances of signing him.
With promotion to the Championship sealed for Wrexham, they are set to waste no time as they gear up for a challenging campaign in the second tier.
Wrexham have already been linked with several players, with a potential move for Rangers’ Tom Lawrence being reported.
Also, Wrexham are linked with Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney, a deal that could see the Premier League veteran handed a whopping £50,000 per week contract, a vast sum for any Championship club to hand out, let alone one recently promoted from League One.
Whilst Cairney has spoken about his desire to stay at Fulham, he previously went a step further that could potentially hamper Wrexham’s hopes of signing the Premier League midfielder this summer.
Tom Cairney previously expressed his desire to retire at Fulham amid links to Wrexham
Wrexham are already showing ambition to target players for the Championship, and there is no doubt that Cairney would be a fine addition at this level, despite being in his swan song at the age of 34.
Fulham’s most recent Premier League clash on their travels to Brentford saw a 3-2 win for the visitors, with captain Cairney notching a goal to help his side towards a brilliant win.
Whilst Wrexham are willing to offer big money to the Fulham star, such a deal may be incredibly difficult to conduct because of once clear ambition that Cairney has, and that is to retire at Craven Cottage, as he outlined back in January 2024 when speaking to The Standard.
When previously asked about whether he hopes to retire as a Fulham player, Cairney said: “Yeah. I did say during lockdown I want to play football until my legs fall off, because staying at home for three months was difficult.
“I feel like you’re a long time retired, so I’ll play football for as long as I can. But if we’re talking dream scenarios: to stay at Fulham until the end.”
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Wrexham already have plan B sorted for potential breakdown in Tom Cairney discussions
One thing that Wrexham chiefs Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will soon realise is that, at Championship level, they no longer stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the pack in regards to pulling power for signings.
They will compete with former Premier League winners Leicester City, as well as fellow relegated pair Southampton and Ipswich Town, for a start, something that could make things difficult for Wrexham
Reynolds and McElhenney will no doubt be gutted if they are unable to make the marquee signing of Cairney, but they do have a fine option as a plan B in Tom Lawrence.
Whilst Lawrence’s form has been somewhat streaky recently, he still has that proven goalscoring ability at Championship level – if he is able to refind his form at Wrexham under Phil Parkinson, he could be a fine asset, and one that would be less financially restrictive compared to signing Cairney.