Wrexham must prioritise a new contract for Phil Parkinson’s ‘irreplaceable’ talent after giving Max Cleworth a new deal.
Wrexham had a mass clear-out following promotion to League One with nine players departing, including Luke Young, Ben Tozer and Aaron Hayden.
Phil Parkinson had to make some incredibly tough decisions to let go of the individuals who played a vital part in their journey, but it was a necessary procedure to give the 56-year-old room to work with in the transfer market.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds will be handing the Wrexham boss a healthy sum of funds to make improvements to his squad, but arguably the biggest piece of business he could do this summer is giving defender Max Cleworth a new contract.
Wrexham must hand Max Cleworth a new contract
Since McElhenney and Reynolds arrived at Wrexham, they’ve opted for the short-term approach with their transfers, acquiring proven players who can fast-track them up the leagues.
Ex-Premier League stars Steven Fletcher and James McClean are perfect examples of their transfer strategy; experienced, quality professionals coming towards the end of their careers.
Although Wrexham boast several experienced players, they don’t have many at the other end of the spectrum, but Cleworth is.
The 21-year-old has established himself as a mainstay in Parkinson’s defence, with Andy Morrell claiming he has a “big future” ahead of him.
Cleworth looks tailor-made to play League One football and arguably has the highest resale value of any player in the Wrexham squad.
Therefore, with his contract expiring in 2025, they must offer him a new deal, otherwise, they risk losing him on a free transfer.
Remarkably, he isn’t the only player in a similar position.
George Evans deserves a new Wrexham deal
George Evans, a summer signing from Millwall last year, is part of the Wrexham crew who have played League One football previously.
The Manchester City academy graduate has appeared 51 times in the third tier during the early stages of his career, with the 29-year-old playing the bulk of his matches in the Championship (147 appearances).
An incredible defensive midfielder, who has previously been described as “irreplaceable”, Evans formed a solid trio with Elliot Lee and Andy Cannon in the engine room.
He featured 27 times in League Two and showed he was a class above by recovering 4.7 balls per game, averaging 1.1 tackles and winning 59% of his ground duels.
There’s no surprise that when he was out injured for a nine-match spell between February and March Wrexham failed to win five of those matches.
He’s indispensable to Parkinson’s system as he offers protection to the defence and not only that, an ability to hold his own at Championship level.
It means that if the Reds were to get promoted, he wouldn’t need replacing, which is why his contract that runs out in 2025 needs renewing as Wrexham should be building their team around him.