Seven-figure deal means it’s clear which Wrexham player Phil Parkinson will move on in transfer window

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Wrexham are set to sign Sam Smith from Reading but his arrival leaves Phil Parkinson with an inflated striker department.

Normally, when a club are struggling on the goal front, they generally don’t have enough strikers on their books.

That certainly isn’t the case for Wrexham, however, with Jack Marriott, Steven Fletcher, Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, Modou Faal, and even Elliot Lee and Ryan Longman options for Phil Parkinson.

Numbers aren’t the problem for the Red Dragons, though, with it instead a serious lack of quality from certain players named above.

Their goalscoring woes are hopefully set to be fixed in the coming days, however, with Wrexham moving for Sam Smith of Reading in a £2m deal that will smash their transfer record.

The arrival of Smith will, however, mean the Welsh team have six natural centre-forwards and two more players who can be used in just two positions.

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Sam Smith signing means Wrexham need to move striker on

With such an inflated frontline, selling one or two names would make sense but that is unlikely to happen.

Palmer signed a new contract in 2024 and his age and form mean he’s not an attractive proposition for any club.

Mullin is on a long-term deal and again, his form and potential price tag would make a January sale very difficult.

Fletcher is in good form and should be allowed to run down his deal before potentially retiring with Wrexham in the summer.

Similarly, Marriott is one of the club’s only strikers to show any promise in 2024/25, so moving him on would be bizarre, especially after just giving him a new contract.

As a result, it seems clear that Parkinson will have to let Faal leave the club before deadline day to make room in his 22-man League One squad.

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Modou Faal Wrexham stats

Whether Wrexham would make his exit a loan or permanent is hard to judge, but it’s obvious the 21-year-old needs to move on for the good of his career.

Faal scored his first goal for the Red Dragons against Wolverhampton Wanderers’ U21s in the EFL Trophy but has failed to have any impact in the league.

He’s notched just 56 minutes of action in the third tier and now has even less chance of featuring with Smith on his way.