Stockport County doubts emerge over deal for ex-Rangers star amid Wrexham AFC interest - It's "far-fetched" | OneFootball

FLW’s Stockport County fan pundit has offered his thoughts on the Hatters being linked with a summer move for Tom Lawrence.

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Despite suffering play-off heartache last season, Stockport County will be hopeful of bringing about another promotion push under Dave Challinor.

The Hatters rose to the League One challenge emphatically after leapfrogging out of the fourth tier the season prior, finishing third last term, only five points behind second-placed Wrexham.

However, Stockport would face agony in the play-offs, losing on penalties to Leyton Orient in the semi-final after two very closely contested legs.

Regardless of the result, it was a fabulous campaign for a newly-promoted team to achieve in the third tier, and with a few more additions to the squad, the Greater Manchester-based outfit could go all the way to landing a place in the Championship.

As Stockport look to add both quality and depth to their ranks ahead of another season, the club have been linked with a move for experienced attacking midfielder Tom Lawrence, who is available on a free transfer after departing Scottish giants Rangers.

Set to rival Wrexham in the race for the Welshman’s signature, FLW’s Stockport County fan pundit has weighed in with his thoughts on the latest transfer rumours.

Stockport County, Tom Lawrence deal described as “far-fetched”

Speaking to Football League World, Stockport County fan pundit James Cropper believes that the club do need to sign an attacking midfielder this summer, but is doubtful whether they can compete financially with more established Championship clubs to lure Tom Lawrence to Edgeley Park.

Cropper said: “I'm a bit conflicted to be honest, with Will Collar probably leaving on a free transfer, we do have a vacant attacking midfielder spot. In a way, it’s always been kind of vacant.

"We have players that can play there, but it’s necessarily not their best position. We’ve got Callum Camps, but then again, he excels more in a CDM role, so I think I'd say it would be a very good signing, but I'd also say it would be a very far-fetched signing at the same time.

“We saw last season with Kieran Dowell from Rangers going on loan to Birmingham City and that was a shock, so to get a player from Rangers who is 31 now, but is still a mid-to-top-level Championship player who's played for the second-best club in Scotland, I think it'd very far-fetched for us to pull off.

“We’ve got ambitious owners, and I think they’ll try to do it, but honestly, I don't really see us offering higher wages than say any team above the top ten in the Championship. That's just my opinion, but I'd love to see him come to us.

“We saw how well it worked with signing Ollie Norwood last season. He was absolutely brilliant. I don't reckon he (Lawrence) would drop to League One level, but I'd love to see him do that. I think he's still got a few years ahead of him where he’s still properly Championship quality, so I don't think he'd drop, but I'd be happy to be surprised.”

Tom Lawrence addition would be a statement of intent by Stockport County

While Stockport County aren’t necessarily the favourites to land Tom Lawrence, the Hatters have defied the odds in the past to land someone of Ollie Norwood’s ilk, as fan pundit James alluded to.

Meanwhile, young forward Louie Barry excelled under Dave Challinor’s guidance in the first half of last season, with the system and coaching staff in place to get the best out of whoever they bring to the club.

The Stockport boss has also recently penned a new three-year deal, with much optimism brewing about the ongoing project and it only being a matter of time before they jump into the second tier.

There’s a real feel-good factor around the club at the moment, and with only positive things happening both on and off the pitch, Lawrence may be tempted to be a part of it and help add his EFL know-how to the group.

Possessing both experience and quality in the final third, Lawrence has the potential to make Stockport’s frontline a force this upcoming campaign, and the club must do all they can to convince him that Edgeley Park is the place to be.