Wrexham have lost out on one of their summer transfer targets, but it’s certainly no time to panic for Phil Parkinson.
Wrexham’s transfer window has burst into life in the last week or so. On Thursday evening, Wrexham announced the signing of Lewis O’Brien, who joins in a club record £5m deal from Premier League Nottingham Forest.
He arrives shortly after Wrexham signed Josh Windass on a free transfer, with the likes of George Thomason and Liberato Cacace both arriving too.
It takes the summer signings tally up to six at the Racecourse this summer. Fans are gearing up for the start of the new season, and many have more optimism now than they did a week or so ago.
During Wrexham’s pre-season tour of Australia, a couple of defeats against Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix spread fear into fans ahead of the new Championship season, but this flurry of new signings certainly has instilled much more confidence.
Wrexham transfer target Owen Beck seals loan move
The left-back spot was a bit of a problem one for Wrexham going into this summer’s transfer window. Right now the starting left-back is James McClean. The veteran Irishman is out of contract in a year’s time, though it appears Phil Parkinson has brought in Cacace as the long-term name in that left-back position.
The New Zealand international could well be a Wrexham starter for years to come, though another left-back signing may still be necessary and Liverpool’s Owen Beck was linked with a move.
This week it was revealed that Beck was close to joining Championship rivals Derby County, then on Friday, Derby County announced the loan signing of Beck. It comes after Beck signed a long-term contract with the Reds.
One problem position has emerged at Wrexham
Whilst additions on both flanks of defence may still be necessary for Parkinson this summer, it appears as though another body in the middle of defence is his next priority.
With central midfielders having arrived and new attackers too, with Windass and Ryan Hardie bolstering the front line, a centre-back now seems like a pressing priority in the transfer market for Wrexham.
Alarmingly though, Wrexham haven’t been linked with any new centre-backs in a while. Earlier in the summer, Harry Darling joined Norwich City on a permanent deal following his Swansea contract expiring and he was a key target for Wrexham.
Names like Johnny Evans and Michael Keane have also been mentioned. With Wrexham clearly pressing on with transfer plans, we may well expect to see a new centre-back signing made in the coming week or so.