Wrexham’s deadline day signing Ben Sheaf hasn’t made the most amazing start to life at the club, with four appearances under his belt so far.
Wrexham signed three new players on deadline day last month. The pick of the bunch was Ben Sheaf who arrived in a £6.5million deal from Championship rivals Coventry City.
The central midfielder made his first start for the club in Wrexham’s 3-2 win at Norwich City and he’s started the following two league games since.
But Sheaf was anonymous in Wrexham’s draw against Leicester City in midweek. The game simply seemed to pass him by in the middle of the pitch where he barely touched the ball.
Now with Ollie Rathbone on the mend, Sheaf could be fearing for his spot in the Wrexham XI.
Phil Parkinson drops Ollie Rathbone injury update at Wrexham
Speaking to Leader Live, Phil Parkinson has shared another fitness update on Rathbone after the midfielder’s ankle injury in pre-season. And it’s good news on the club’s 2024/25 Player of the Season with Parkinson suggesting he could be back after the next international break.
Parkinson said: “Ollie travelled with us [to Leicester City]. Ideally we’d like to get a game in that international break for him to play because he needs a game. But it’s great to have him back with us and what an option.”
Parkinson often praises Rathbone and he does so again here. With the Wrexham boss clearly a huge fan of the 28-year-old, and with Sheaf yet to really show us what he can do, Rathbone replacing Sheaf in the XI could be inevitable when the midfielder is back fit.
Phil Parkinson has already given his verdict on Ben Sheaf
Few would deny that Sheaf isn’t a top class player at Championship level. But there might be question marks about whether he’s the right player for Parkinson’s style of play at Wrexham which focuses the play down the wings rather than through the middle of the pitch.
Rathbone though is a player who can get more involved with the attacking side of the game and that’s arguably why he might be a better fit for this system than Sheaf might be.
Nonetheless, Parkinson is a huge fan of Sheaf having already lavished praise on the 27-year-old. Speaking after the Norwich City, Parkinson said: “Sheafy is just a class player, isn’t he? I think everyone can see that.
“He’s got real leadership qualities, he’s a class player. We’ve got to kind of get him to where we need him to be, gradually, but he showed so much quality today.”
For Parkinson, having Rathbone back will be a nice headache for him as his midfield options will only grow in strength and quality.
Wrexham return to action against Birmingham City on Friday night.