Wrexham squad audit: Who should stay and who should go ahead of Championship season?

Sports

add

Wrexham and their Hollywood owners are about to sail into relatively uncharted waters.

Not just as a club, with their last match in the second tier having been a little under 43 years ago, but also in terms of personnel, with no less than nine of a 22-man squad registered for the second half of the 2024-25 campaign yet to kick a ball in the Championship.

Factor in Arthur Okonkwo and Callum Burton — goalkeepers are exempt under EFL squad rules in Leagues One and Two, as well as under-21s players — having also not played at this level, plus another four of the 22 having less than 50 appearances apiece to their name, and that’s a sizeable chunk of the group who took Wrexham to an unprecedented third straight promotion.

Even Phil Parkinson’s managerial experience in the Championship is limited to short spells with Hull City and Charlton Athletic, plus one largely chaotic campaign at the helm of Bolton Wanderers in 2017-18 when he kept the club up despite operating under a transfer embargo.

“It’ll be intense and very difficult,” James McClean, a veteran of more than 200 games in the Championship along with five seasons in the Premier League, tells The Athletic. “The higher you go up, the quality in both boxes is what makes the difference, but we have players who have played there and higher.”

McClean joins Jack Marriott, George Evans, Jay Rodriguez, Matty James, Ryan Longman and Steven Fletcher among the current squad to have played more than 100 times in the Championship.

But the 36-year-old Irishman believes plenty of those yet to experience a minute in English football’s second tier during their careers are ready to take on a higher challenge next season.

“Some hadn’t played in League One before, but they embraced it,” he adds. “They’ve been brilliant — young Max (Cleworth), for example — so, I’ve no doubt at all these lads will step up and go on to be even better players again.”

With Wrexham’s players having jetted out to Las Vegas on Thursday for a promotion party offered by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as a carrot for success, the time feels right for a full squad audit ahead of next season’s step up to the Championship.

Goalkeepers

Considering that from Wrexham’s registered keepers, only Mark Howard has played in the Championship before — and even then, the soon-to-be out-of-contract 38-year-old’s experience amounts to just a dozen outings — perhaps it’s unusual that this seems the position where Wrexham are best served already for next season.

Both Okonkwo and Burton (who was previously part of second-tier squads at Hull and Plymouth without ever playing) impressed sufficiently in League One to suggest moving up a division won’t be a problem.

In fact, the biggest decision regarding the keepers seems to be who should be the third choice. Another year for Howard, who made nine league starts due to injury and loss of form among his younger peers, seems sensible, along with a loan elsewhere for Luke McNicholas.

Central defenders

Five of the half-dozen senior centre-halves on the books reached double figures in terms of league starts in 2024-25. Max Cleworth, voted Wrexham’s players’ player of the year, led the way with 42, and he looks Championship-ready.

Eoghan O’Connell was first choice in the centre of the back three for much of the campaign, with 38 starts, closely followed by Thomas O’Connor (25) and Lewis Brunt (21). Dan Scarr, along with Will Boyle, started 12 games.

Boyle’s failure to make the 22-man squad demanded by EFL rules from January onwards suggests he’ll be on his way in the summer. As for the rest, Cleworth is a shoo-in to start next season on the right and Brunt a good bet for the left.

The 24-year-old Brunt had the odd below-par outing, usually after an early mistake that then spiralled as if playing on his mind, but he reads the game well and is composed when bringing the ball out of defence.

Max Cleworth had an impressive season in League One (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

As for who plays down the middle, we’ve no doubt O’Connor, an unsung hero for much of the season that’s just ended, could do a job. Scarr, too, even though the 30-year-old has a tendency to drop a little deep, almost as if he’s wary of being caught out in a foot race.

However, if Wrexham are to truly thrive at a level demanding genuine pace and the ability to pick a pass in such a pivotal role, they may have to invest heavily. O’Connell, Scarr and O’Connor would then be able backups.

Wing-backs

James McClean and Ryan Barnett were first choice for much of the campaign before January arrival Ryan Longman eventually usurped Barnett down the right flank.

All three have a role to play next season, particularly McClean, with his vast experience and leadership skills potentially key to helping the new boys settle. McClean admitted after last weekend’s win over Lincoln: “The speed is obviously not what it once was but that hunger and desire will never leave me”.

Considering the huge difference in class between League One and the Championship — particularly when it comes to the top teams — Wrexham will be up against it at times, so they will need such qualities.

That said, they’ll also be looking to the flanks for creativity, so at least one new addition of a proven performer at this level would be welcome, especially as Parkinson likes to operate with a minimum of five wing-backs, including at least one capable of playing down both wings.

Longman seems equally confident crossing from the left or right, unlike Barnett, who lost some of his threat once opposition full-backs started to wise up and show him inside on to his weaker left foot.

Barnett is still a big talent, finishing joint-second in the League One assists chart with nine and making the EFL team of the year for the third tier. He has the potential to blossom further.

Like Longman, Sebastian Revan can play down either flank. He also has pace in abundance, so is worth persevering with despite things not really happening for the former Aston Villa junior during his first year in north Wales.

Both Jacob Mendy and Luke Bolton are under contract, but it’s hard to see a role for either following promotion, particularly if at least one addition is made out wide.

McClean last played in the Championship in 2023 (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)

Midfielders

This is the area that has experienced the biggest evolution in personnel over the past 12 months, with Parkinson’s first-choice midfield trio by the run-in containing solely signings made since Wrexham left behind League Two.

Matty James grew in stature as the weeks went by and was undroppable by the end. Ditto Ollie Rathbone, voted player of the year by supporters, while the energy and poise of George Dobson became a reassuringly familiar sight.

Again, all three have roles to play in the Championship, a level where James has almost 250 appearances to his name, but Dobson is yet to kick a ball.

Creativity will need to improve in midfield, certainly in terms of the ability to play that killer pass. This will be even more of a necessity if Parkinson persists with the 3-5-1-1 formation he preferred from November onwards.

Rathbone, in particular, was given more licence to roam forward under this setup and the rewards came via a career-high eight league goals, including three in the final eight games. Elliot Lee initially filled this No 10 role before Rodriguez’s arrival at the end of January.

Does Parkinson look for a specialist in this position? John McAtee, who eventually joined Bolton Wanderers from Luton Town in a seven-figure deal, was on the radar for a brief moment last summer, so it’s certainly not beyond the realms that Wrexham will look at a similar style of player.

What isn’t in doubt is the abundance of midfielders already at Parkinson’s disposal, with George Evans and a fit-again Andy Cannon also in the mix along with talented youngster Harry Ashfield.

Evans, contracted to 2026, is likely to find minutes hard to come by once again and may well leave, while the fate of a couple of others is likely to rest on whether this summer brings evolution or revolution in the transfer market.

Our money is on the former, meaning we’d love to see one marquee signing in the middle of the pitch as Parkinson gradually remodels things over the next 18 months.

Strikers

Sam Smith arrived in January for a club record £2million and has since established himself as Wrexham’s main man up front.

His seven goals in 18 appearances were integral to Wrexham getting over the line but it wasn’t just in front of goal where Smith excelled; his willingness to run the channels and impressive link-play brought an added dimension to the team.

Smith’s Championship experience amounts to just four starts and four appearances from the bench for Reading in 2017-18, but he’s surely going to lead the line next season. Who plays alongside — or, perhaps more likely, just behind — him will be fascinating.

Rodriguez fulfilled this role well, despite what his critics may claim. Not just in terms of link-play but also the positions he took up when pressing the opposition, using his vast experience to cut off the easier pass for anyone attempting to bring the ball out from the back.

Only when Rodriguez was substituted just after the hour mark most games did Wrexham revert to two up front as super sub Fletcher came on to partner first Smith and then usually Marriott.

Fletcher, the club’s joint-top scorer with eight league goals this season, has an unclear future at 38. The veteran joins Sam Dalby among Wrexham’s array of senior strikers — eight at the last count — in being out of contract.

Steven Fletcher’s contract is about to expire (Pete Norton/Getty Images)

Dalby, after a year on loan at Dundee United, will surely leave, while it’s difficult to see anything but a parting of the ways with Ollie Palmer despite Wrexham’s one-time record signing having another year left on his contract.

Palmer, a key figure in establishing Wrexham as a serious League One promotion contender during the first half of the season, hasn’t featured in a league matchday squad since the end of January.

Paul Mullin, under contract until 2027, is another whose future remains uncertain after also being frozen out these past couple of months. There will surely be plenty of clubs interested.

Equally, he may want to stick around and benefit from a trouble-free pre-season after his preparations were ruined two years running by, first, a collapsed lung and then back surgery.

July’s overseas trip could be pivotal for Mullin, just as it was for Marriott a year ago when his displays in the U.S. and Canada earned a starting place once the season came around.

As for Fletcher, another year would be great if his troublesome knee agrees, while Modou Faal surely needs a loan move after failing to make a single league start last season.

A fascinating summer lies ahead at the SToK Cae Ras, especially with Championship clubs being restricted to a 25-man squad, including goalkeepers. With Revan and Faal no longer exempt due to turning 22, Parkinson has a few headaches to come.

So many still being under contract points towards a summer refresh where the focus is on genuine Championship quality over quantity. Either way, Longman, signed from second-tier Hull City, insists Wrexham will be ready for whatever challenges await.

“I know how tough it is in the Championship,” says the 24-year-old. “But we can 100 per cent (do well). We have the quality and we also keep in games. That’s what you have to do in the Championship.

“If you stay in the game, anyone can then go on and win 1-0 or 2-0. We have to embrace that challenge and just go with it.”

McClean agrees, the captain adding about a return to a level Wrexham last graced in 1981-82: “This club loves a challenge. It’s the Catholic underdog story, isn’t it? If only we had some form of Hollywood involvement here — you could make a movie about it!”

(Top photos: Paul Mullin, left, and James McClean; Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Tyler Bindon on Premier League ‘dream’, starting at LAFC, Vietnam War veteran grandfather

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Gabriel Moreno, D-backs slam Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers

Sports