Wrexham have been dealt a blow in their quest to strengthen Phil Parkinson’s options for the new campaign.
Parkinson has been intelligent with his recruitment since arriving as Wrexham boss in 2021 but arguably faces his most challenging and important transfer window yet.
Having secured the signatures of Ryan Hardie and Danny Ward, the Red Dragons are looking for more experienced players to come in.
Midfield is an area of priority for the manager but he has just been dealt some bad news as Championship rivals have swooped ahead of Wrexham to sign one of their targets.
Stoke City set to sign Wrexham target Aaron Cresswell
According to journalist Alan Nixon, Stoke City are set to announce the signing of Aaron Cresswell on a free transfer from West Ham United.
Wrexham offered a contract to Cresswell earlier in the window but Nixon claims the club ‘dithered’ over finalising a deal and the Potters have swooped in.
Cresswell was keen to stay close to his home in the North West, which gave the Red Dragons an advantage over most of their transfer rivals.
The failure to land an experienced player with Premier League quality will come as a blow to Parkinson as he looks to build his Wrexham squad.
Other targets in the left-side of defence have included Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool’s Owen Beck. It remains to be seen whether concrete moves are now made for that duo.
Wrexham’s failure to sign Aaron Cresswell has sparked interest in Liberato Cacace
Wrexham are monitoring Liberato Cacace after an impressive season in Serie A with Empoli and could make their interest concrete with a £3.5m move.
With Stoke City winning the race for Cresswell, Wrexham will have to turn to alternatives and the New Zealand international is on their list.
Cacace is expected to leave Empoli following their relegation and wants regular first-team football ahead of New Zealand’s World Cup campaign next summer.
Wrexham face competition from the likes of Pisa and Cagliari but the lure of the Racecourse Ground and the chance to make history could prove too big an incentive for the 24-year-old to turn down.
If signed, he would become the club’s first major overseas signing of the Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney era.