One Wrexham man will be hoping that he is not frozen out of Phil Parkinson’s plans in the 2025/26 Championship season.
Wholesale changes are afoot at the Racecourse Ground in terms of personnel, with several signings expected for Wrexham.
Whilst Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have only brought two players in so far in the summer transfer window, significantly less than fellow promoted side Birmingham City, but nonetheless, Wrexham are certainly far from done in the window.
At the top of Phil Parkinson’s list of priorities this summer is bringing in a Championship-proven midfielder. Wrexham have agreed a fee for Lewis O’Brien; however, Reynolds and McElhenney are struggling to secure a financially viable contract for the midfielder.
Whether Wrexham can get a deal over the line for O’Brien or not, one Red Dragons ace may be concerned about his own game time and whether the signing of a proven Championship talent could freeze him out of Parkinson’s side.
Wrexham midfielder Andy Cannon may be concerned about game time guarantees this season
Since the 2022/23 season, where Andy Cannon joined Wrexham in the title-winning National League season, the 29-year-old has played a prominent role in Phil Parkinson’s side. In the 2023/24 League Two campaign, Cannon notched an impressive 11 goal contributions, but such a total didn’t quite guarantee his game time in the previous year.
Cannon was in-and-out of Parkinson’s side last season, and with the likelihood of recruitment in the centre of the park, his game time could be limited even further.
Parkinson may be wary that Cannon struggled in his previous spell in the Championship with Hull City, where his time on the grass was also very low.
Andy Cannon must prove his worth to Phil Parkinson in pre-season
Phil Parkinson has shown that there is no room for sentiment in his process for picking his squad for the 2025/26 Championship season. He has already moved Paul Mullin to Wigan Athletic, so it would be no surprise to see Andy Cannon follow suit.
If Cannon is handed an opportunity to prove why he should be part of Parkinson’s plans this season, he needs to grasp that with both hands. The prospect of multi-million-pound signings arriving at the Racecourse Ground could be unsettling, but Cannon can still show his worth.
Wrexham, as a club, are going into unknown territory in the Championship, and potentially, Cannon can use his experience from the second tier as a reason for him to be kept around the dressing room this season.