Wrexham appear to be closing on a new striker signing just as Wycombe Wanderers fight to keep their leading marksman.
The League One promotion race has taken a turn this week.
Wrexham’s exceptional unbeaten home record came to an end on Tuesday night with a 3-2 defeat to Stevenage.
That performance was concerning enough, but Wrexham then saw both Birmingham City and Wycombe Wanderers claim victories.
Wrexham now sit six points adrift of Wycombe and eight points behind leaders Birmingham – who have two games in hand on Wrexham.
Phil Parkinson needs to get Wrexham back on track after just one win in five to start 2025, with Wycombe simply not faltering so far.
Wycombe Wanderers make significant striker statement
Many thought that Wycombe’s strong start to the season would fall away eventually.
That didn’t really happen and Wycombe losing boss Matt Bloomfield hasn’t even halted their momentum.
The Chairboys just keep going and their injury-time win over Barnsley on Tuesday night showed their battling spirit.
Richard Kone scored the crucial goal and the Ivorian is attracting serious transfer interest.
Kone is on a quite remarkable journey right now having been playing for Athletic Newham in the Essex Senior League just over a year ago.
The 21-year-old has smashed 16 league goals in 28 games this season and he is unsurprisingly turning heads.
Sky Sports claim that Wycombe have now rejected a stunning £6million bid from Luton Town for Kone.
Bloomfield wants to reunite with Kone at Kenilworth and Sky Sports add that a new £7million offer has been submitted.
Wycombe have made a serious statement by turning that kind of money, showing that they mean business in this League One promotion race.
Wrexham hunting in expensive striker market
Wycombe’s stance suggests that they will be seriously going for promotion this season, but also demonstrates the expensive nature of the striker market.
Huddersfield Town splashed £3million on Joe Taylor whilst Blackpool just lost Kyle Joseph to Swansea City for £2.5million, as noted by BBC Sport.
Joseph scored just nine times in 66 games for Blackpool yet his fee would have shattered Wrexham’s transfer record.
This is the way the market is going right now and we are seeing more money spent in League One – and League One players becoming worth even more.
Kone at £7million is a remarkable fee and a sign of League One’s growth right now.
Wrexham’s own striker hunt has run into these fees too; Ryan Hardie was on Wrexham’s radar but at a reported fee of £2million despite just one Championship goal this season.
Finding strikers is difficult but Wrexham are now agreeing to sign Sam Smith from Reading in a ‘multi-million pound deal’.
Wrexham had to splash the cash in an attempt to get over the line in the League One promotion race, with money really flying around League One right now.