Deadline day passed without any more business for Wrexham with Phil Parkinson now set for the rest of the season.
The final day of any transfer window tends to be chaotic but that wasn’t the case for Wrexham on Monday.
Phil Parkinson’s incoming business had already been done with three new signings arriving at the STōK Cae Ras.
Ryan Longman was Wrexham’s first January signing as he completed a £500,000 move from Hull City.
Wrexham’s transfer record was then broken on Sam Smith with the striker arriving from Reading last Friday.
Parkinson then decided that one new striker wasn’t enough as he added veteran striker Jay Rodriguez from Burnley just hours after Smith’s arrival.
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Modou Faal in an unfortunate spot at Wrexham
Wrexham are looking for Rodriguez and Smith to make an immediate impact but Parkinson’s attacking ranks are now looking a little bloated.
Rodriguez and Smith started at Crawley Town with Steven Fletcher and Jack Marriott on the bench.
Paul Mullin was out injured whilst Ollie Palmer attracted interest before the deadline but decided to stay at Wrexham despite a curious absence at Crawley.
That is six strikers battling for two spots in Parkinson’s 3-5-2 approach – and that’s before even getting to Modou Faal.
Wrexham signed Faal on deadline day in August with Parkinson delighted to land such an ‘exciting’ talent.
The target man was always going to be a project; he scored goals at League Two level last season but was one for the future with Palmer and Fletcher in their 30’s.
This has been a testing season for Faal given that he has played just 56 minutes of League One action across seven substitute appearances this term.
Now with even more competition for places, Faal’s League One prospects don’t exactly look great between now and the summer.
Faal at least scored in Tuesday’s 4-1 EFL Trophy win over Port Vale, but Wrexham’s January business leaves Faal essentially hoping for more EFL Trophy chances with League One starts seemingly even further away after two attacking signings.
Seemingly brought in as fifth choice behind Mullin, Palmer, Marriott and Fletcher to begin with, Faal may now find himself as seventh choice for League One games.
Faal’s infectious enthusiasm has endeared him to supporters and he will need to show some patience in the coming months as he waits for a chance to shine.
- READ MORE: Wrexham fans in complete agreement about Modou Faal after Port Vale – something’s changed
Faal loan move a priority this summer
Making matters worse for Faal is that he hasn’t been able to go out on loan.
A loan spell where Faal could play regularly in League Two again – or even in League One – would have been ideal right now.
However, Faal played for West Bromwich Albion earlier this season before linking up with Wrexham.
That means Faal has already played for two teams this season and was unable to play for a third in the same campaign.
Faal can feel a little unfortunate in that regard and whilst he will be learning so much from Wrexham’s experienced strikers, he needs games.
Whether Wrexham go up or not, finding a quality loan move for Faal this summer must be the priority after a lack of playing time this term.
Faal still has big potential and we certainly can’t write off his Wrexham career at this stage, but his situation for the rest of this season is far from ideal.