Wrexham snapped up Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez in the January transfer window, but one Championship striker appeared to be the top target.
Wrexham are still pushing for a place in the Championship and have had Phil Parkinson’s two January striking additions to thank of late.
Jay Rodriguez scored crucial goals against Exeter City and Stockport County as Wrexham picked up two vital wins.
Wrexham’s record signing Sam Smith scored big goals against Rotherham United and Wycombe Wanderers, with the pair building on their partnership in attack.
Wrexham will hope to see the pair in the goals between now and the end of the season, with a place in the Championship on offer.
Phil Parkinson has praised Rodriguez after his goal against Exeter, but another veteran forward appeared to be his top priority in January.
Humphrey Ker on Wrexham chasing Michael Smith
Wrexham wanted another veteran striker in attack and ended up landing Rodriguez from Burnley.
This only came after Wrexham had chased a move for Sheffield Wednesday striker Michael Smith, another experienced and battle-tested forward.
Reports in January suggested that Wrexham were expected to move for Smith ahead of the transfer deadline.
No deal was done in the end, with pundit Carlton Palmer suggesting that Smith will be disappointed that he wasn’t able to join Wrexham.
Humphrey Ker has now commented on Wrexham’s interest in Smith, whilst speaking on the Fearless In Devotion podcast.
Ker noted that Wrexham put in ‘loads of effort’ on a potential deal for Smith, but it just became obvious that a deal would be ‘difficult’.
Ker suggested that Smith was interested in a move to the STōK Cae Ras, only for talks with Wednesday to break down in the end.
“I think everyone knows we were interested in Michael Smith, and the question was ‘can we get him out of Sheffield Wednesday in a non-insane fashion?’, and loads of effort was put into that and it was just clear that it was going to be difficult to do that,” said Ker.
“I think he was definitely interested, you have to be careful because we can’t talk to a player without agreeing a fee with their setup, but there were lots of discussions between us and Sheffield Wednesday, and it was apparent that it wouldn’t be a total waste of time if we could make an agreement with Sheffield Wednesday – but we couldn’t,” he added.
Shaun Harvey desperately tried to get Michael Smith to Wrexham
Ker’s suggestion that Wrexham were working desperately to sign Smith certainly adds up with reports emerging after the January window.
Reports indicated that Shaun Harvey visited Sheffield Wednesday in the hope of being able to strike a deal for Smith with the personal touch.
Wednesday still wouldn’t budge, though, meaning Harvey’s trip to watch the Owls against Bristol City was all for nothing.
Smith is out of contract this summer, and it looks likely that he will be leaving Wednesday on a free transfer.
Wrexham may still hold an interest in Smith, but any deal would surely require a number of strikers leaving the club, given that Parkinson already has seven first-team forwards at his disposal.