Wrexham are set to attack the transfer market this summer and Phil Parkinson is looking at all options across world football.
Wrexham’s owners will be ‘aggressive’ in the market as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have ambitions to achieve another promotion from the Championship.
Parkinson is looking for Premier League experience to bolster his Wrexham squad and with a reported £25m budget, the Red Dragons manager will have the financial resources at his disposal.
Wrexham are interested in Sunusi Ibrahim from CF Montreal as they look to explore foreign markets and Wrexham Insider has taken a look at the potential winners and losers should a deal be completed for the striker.
Winners from Sunusi Ibrahim’s transfer to Wrexham
Sam Smith
Sam Smith’s Championship experience means that Parkinson will have to have options to support the 27-year-old striker next season.
Smith cut a lonely figure up top at times during the League One promotion run-in and with the step up in quality in the second tier, Wrexham cannot afford for that to happen on a regular basis.
Ibrahim has been backed to be a star by Premier League forward Taiwo Awoniyi and his pace and power can help stretch defences and give Smith a partner to play off.
Jay Rodriguez has played with Smith for much of his career at the Racecourse Ground so far but often dropped too deep, meaning Smith had to feed off scraps.
Ollie Rathbone
Ollie Rathbone enjoyed an incredible first season at the Red Dragons after his £500k move from Rotherham United last summer.
Rathbone quickly proved that his energy in midfield would be vital to Parkinson’s plans and during the second half of the season, he became the most creative force in the side.
However, with Rodriguez dropping deep, Rathbone struggled to find those intricate passes at times with only Smith to find up top.
Ibrahim will now give the midfielder someone to play those clever passes through the lines to and Rathbone has already shared his excitement over new signings.
Losers from Sunusi Ibrahim’s transfer to Wrexham
Paul Mullin
Paul Mullin is a Wrexham legend but has not featured for the club since missing a penalty in the EFL Trophy semi-final defeat to Peterborough back in February.
Parkinson has admitted departures will occur at the club this summer and with another striker coming through the door, Mullin could be about to fall further down the pecking order.
Wigan have been linked with Mullin but the Latics have now set their sights on his former teammate Sam Dalby.
Even if Mullin can get a good pre-season behind him, Ibrahim’s arrival would mean competition for a place in the 25-man squad may prove the final straw and lead to his departure.
Ollie Palmer
Ollie Palmer wants to stay at Wrexham but the striker is another player who has fallen out of favour at the club and Ibrahim’s potential switch would be a huge blow to the 33-year-old.
Palmer hasn’t played since January and despite starting the campaign in excellent form and signing a new contract with the club, game time has diminished.
Ibrahim would join the likes of Jack Marriott, Smith and Rodriguez all ahead of the forward in Parkinson’s plans and it may be time to accept his fate and move on for the sake of his career.
Modou Faal
Physically imposing with great pace and power is how Ibrahim has been described and with Parkinson aiming for ‘key’ attributes this summer, Modou Faal must now be worried about his Wrexham future.
Faal has been touted for a loan move ahead of next campaign and should a deal for the CF Montreal striker be completed, that would be the best scenario for the young Wrexham striker.
At just 22, Faal still has time to develop and become the player that Parkinson was hoping to acquire last summer but it may mean gaining experience elsewhere as the path becomes blocked to the Red Dragons first-team.