Wrexham AFC told to beat Derby County and Rangers to "brilliant" Sheffield Wednesday transfer | OneFootball

Football League World's resident Wrexham fan pundit has weighed in on the club's transfer interest in Sheffield Wednesday talisman Josh Windass

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…

Wrexham will be bidding to make a host of exciting additions to Phil Parkinson's squad in preparation for the 2025/26 Championship campaign, having gained a historic third successive promotion from League One last season alongside big-spending title winners Birmingham City and Charlton.

The Red Dragons, who finished the campaign in second place behind Birmingham, were said to be joining Chris Davies' side rivalling Premier League clubs and the Championship's freshly-relegated trio in Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton for targets this summer.

Another upwardly-mobile, recently-promoted and big-spending outfit with glamorous Stateside backing of their own, Birmingham have made a clutch of marquee additions as they look to stamp their authority on the Championship by brokering high-profile deals for the likes of Tommy Doyle, Kanya Fujimoto, Demarai Gray and, perhaps most notably of all, ex-Celtic star striker Kyogo Furuhashi.

It's been a more modest start to the summer window in North Wales, although the additions of Danny Ward and Ryan Hardie - who scored on 12 occasions in the Championship for Plymouth Argyle last time out as they suffered relegation to League One - have been warmly welcomed by supporters.

However, the Stok Cae Ras faithful also understand that further acquisitions are required if Wrexham are to establish themselves at second-tier level.

One signing could be Sheffield Wednesday talisman Josh Windass, whom Wrexham reportedly hold a long-standing interest in according to The Star.

That same report described Wrexham's interest as a "badly-kept secret" within football, although the Championship newcomers may have to fend off reported competition from a trio of second-tier rivals in Coventry City, Derby County and Norwich alongside Scottish giants Rangers, where 31-year-old Windass plied his trade for two years before joining Wigan Athletic in 2018.

Windass, who has spent the last five campaigns with Sheffield Wednesday, is believed to be among a clutch of Owls players to have expressed a desire to move on following persistent late payments of wages from under-fire chairman Dejphon Chansiri.

It's said that a number of players at Hillsborough handed in their notices on July 1, giving Wednesday 15 days to pay them before being allowed to terminate their contracts and depart the club for nothing.

Wrexham urged to beat Derby and Rangers to Sheffield Wednesday, Josh Windass transfer deal

FLW asked our resident Wrexham fan pundit, Liam Grice, whether he believes his side should make a serious advance for Windass in the event that he walks away from the Owls, or if Parkinson does not need yet another ageing forward.

Windass, who can play in attacking midfield but is also comfortable leading the line, celebrated his 31st birthday earlier this year and could be the latest marksman in a long list of experienced and ageing Wrexham attackers, which includes the likes of Ollie Palmer (33), Jay Rodriguez (35) and Steven Fletcher (38).

Despite the age, however, Liam has urged Wrexham to complete the signing of Windass, whose experience and goalscoring prowess in the Championship he believes would be of great benefit after the Owls star registered 13 strikes and a further five assists in league action last time out.

In Liam's view, Windass would represent a "brilliant" piece of business on a free transfer, although his Wednesday situation currently remains up in the air and could, of course, be subject to change.

"I think he would be a good piece of business if we can pick him up without having to pay a fee," Liam told FLW.

"Obviously the situation at Sheffield Wednesday is very unfortunate and I wouldn't wish that on any club, but football is a ruthless business and picking up Windass without paying a fee would be brilliant.

"He'd certainly bring experience, but being 31, he would still be one of the younger forwards in the side and would definitely bring that goalscoring prowess we're going to need in the Championship next season.

"He's full of energy, he'll do the dirty work that Phil Parkinson wants him to do and he's a character as well, which is what we want in our dressing room.

"He knows how to score in this division, so I think he'd be a pretty big pickup."

Josh Windass, Wrexham transfer could be a statement of intent

Wrexham made something of a statement of intent by securing the services of one proven Championship goalscorer in the aforementioned Hardie last month, and that trick could be repeated at a time when they need to start really ramping up the transfer gears with the acquisition of Windass.

Even if the Hull-born frontman does not leave Wednesday on a free, it's a deal which Wrexham should remain in pursuit of.

Beating off established Championship clubs like Coventry and Norwich, for example, who will both have designs on competing for promotion next time out, would be a sure-fire sign of exactly what Wrexham are all about, while Windass would offer a shrewd upgrade on Elliott Lee in that attacking midfield role behind the striker and his positional flexibility, experience and track record infront of goal all make him an attractive proposition for Parkinson to set his sights upon.