Reynolds and McElhenney have to encourage new Wrexham AFC transfer approach under Phil Parkinson | OneFootball

Wrexham AFC owners and manager need to go against the norm for this Championship transfer window

A season away from potentially reaching the top flight of English football, this summer promises to be the biggest in Wrexham AFC’s lengthy history.

While the savvy investments the club have made over the past few transfer windows have worked wonders for the Red Dragons, they’ll need a new approach if they are to compete in the Championship and reach the Premier League.

Wrexham’s transfer model approach to date

Since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney became club owners, Wrexham’s intentions have been crystal clear: to get to the Premier League. The first step in that plan was hiring Phil Parkinson, and his experience in the EFL, combined with his prior success as a coach, has played a massive part in their monumental rise up the pyramid.

The man who guided Bradford City to the League Cup final and led Colchester United and Bolton Wanderers to League One promotions has taken this North Welsh side, which was hovering in the National League, a step away from a spot in the Premier League for the first time. It’s not just his managerial experience that’s catapulted this team up the pyramid but also his ability to recruit players that fit right into the Wrexham way of playing.

It’s been uncanny how many players he, along with the owners, has brought into this team that have made an immediate impact. Ultimately, the club’s transfer approach in the past was to buy experienced players from higher levels, such as Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, Elliot Lee, and Steven Fletcher, alongside individuals who have played at some of the top academies, including Arthur Okonkwo and Lewis Brunt.

That approach hasn’t steered them wrong yet, but it doesn’t mean it’s the way to go ahead of their first Championship campaign.

The jump from League One to the Championship is massive

While many believed Wrexham would struggle to earn a third successive promotion into League One, they achieved it and remained at the top of the table throughout the campaign.

Recent history, however, suggests it’ll be much tougher for Phil Parkinson’s men in the second tier. The 2024-25 campaign was anything but magical for the three newly promoted Championship sides.

Portsmouth were the best among those three, finishing 16th, one place and a point above Oxford United, with Derby County ending in 19th, just a point above the relegation line. Plymouth Argyle, who had been promoted from League One two years ago, were relegated back into the third tier this past season.

Other than Ipswich Town’s second-place finish in 2023-24 and Sunderland’s sixth-place standing the season before that, many other newly promoted side this decade was either relegated or wound up in the bottom half of the table, barely surviving descent in their first Championship season.

Wrexham owners must encourage a new transfer approach

As with every summer transfer window, there are likely to be some big changes to Wrexham’s squad as they prepare for their first second-tier campaign in 43 years.

Parkinson is expected to have the final say on players who come and go, according to a recent story by The Athletic. However, Reynolds and McElhenney will, of course, want to know how their money will be spent, and they’ll want to ensure there’s a side that can contend, without breaking the bank.

Parkinson has already admitted they need players with a certain profile, telling The Athletic that “pace and power are key”. He added: “You look at the physical data, and it jumps from League Two to League One, but then it goes up again (in the Championship), certainly in high-speed running and the sprint distance and the power of the players.”

It seems pretty obvious as well that they’re in the market for Premier League players, though Wrexham are likely to have to take those individuals out on loan spells, something we’ve rarely seen them do in past seasons under Parkinson.

“It’s all about touching base with the Premier League loans managers, making sure we have an understanding of who could become available,” Parkinson told The Athletic.

If he, Reynolds, and McElhenney have done their homework regarding the Championship, they’ll realise that it is essential to add players with attacking quality to compete at that level. In addition to that, they must focus more on players who, as Parkinson put it, possess speed and power while not placing as much emphasis on veteran leadership as in past years.

When examining some of the players who impacted the promoted Championship sides last season, several common themes emerged. Manor Solomon had 10 goals and 12 assists on loan from Tottenham to Leeds United, and Jaidon Anthony netted eight times in the league for Burnley, with a further seven assists.

Morgan Gibbs-White and James McAtee had a similar impact in recent years at the same level at Sheffield United.

All of those players have power, pace, creativity and were capable of finding the back of the net in the Championship. Additionally, all of those players are 25 years of age or younger. Those are the type of players that Wrexham need to pursue when the summer transfer window opens.

While experience and leadership have served the Red Dragons well, a heavy dose of youthful exuberance and, of course, quality will be the key ingredients to being a successful Championship side. The high-profile ownership duo at Wrexham have to arm Parkinson with the right tools.