Phil Parkinson could already ditch a player he signed in the 2024 January transfer window to resolve a big squad issue at Wrexham.
Wrexham are expected to splash the cash after winning promotion to League One.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have big budgets at their disposal and Phil Parkinson is the beneficiary as he’s able to make ambitious moves for players.
The Wrexham manager is currently eyeing up several recruits, including Portsmouth midfielder Joe Morrell and released Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper Marko Marosi.
For Parkinson, landing players with Hollywood owners at the helm has never been an issue however, there is one problem that is preventing an influx of talent from arriving.
Wrexham need to offload some of their players
Wrexham let go of nine players from their squad, some of which were senior assets, shortly after the 2023/24 campaign drew to a close.
Yet, Parkinson is still in a position where he needs to sell more of his squad before he can splash the cash or even just acquire individuals for free.
After giving Steven Fletcher a new contract, keeping him at the Racecourse Ground till 2025, Wrexham currently have 21 senior talents signed up ahead of next season.
At this stage, that figure isn’t an issue as the EFL squad limit for registration is 22 however, if the Reds want to invest in at least six new players – a number they totalled last summer – Parkinson has to shift on some of his deadwood.
A player that should consider offloading is one who was signed during the January transfer window.
Parkinson should consider offloading Jack Marriott
McElhenney and Reynolds landed what looked like an incredible coup when striker Jack Marriott arrived on deadline day.
Fresh from a spell at League One side Fleetwood Town, Marriott arrived with the experience of scoring goals higher up the pyramid; famous for bagging that goal against Leeds United in the Championship play-offs.
A former League One Golden Boot winner with Peterborough United, the 29-year-old has a CV that most EFL strikers would be proud of, though he hasn’t translated that know-how across to Wales.
Marriott has played second fiddle to goal machine Paul Mullin and only made three starts while appearing from the bench on 14 other occasions.
The electric forward has also been goal-shy during his six months at Wrexham, scoring his only goal in the 6-0 hammering of Forest Green Rovers.
Having rarely featured from the start in League Two, it’s unlikely his game time will improve in League One as Mullin is undroppable.
With his contract expiring in 2025 and the fact that Parkinson has seven strikers at his disposal, Wrexham could cash in on Marriott this summer and replace him with someone better, or leave that squad space to invest in a different position.