Wrexham AFC have to take aggressive transfer approach to tool Phil Parkinson for Championship | OneFootball

Wrexham AFC owners need to help out Phil Parkinson by signing some more attacking players in the summer transfer window

These are happy days for the Wrexham AFC faithful, but for the management team there’s a lot of work ahead to piece together a squad capable of competing in the Championship.

Last season, Phil Parkinson masterminded a third successive promotion thanks mainly to his side’s staunch defending, conceding the second-fewest goals in League One.

Their rock-solid defensive game from the backline, to their tireless workhorses in the middle of the park and terrific goalkeeping from Arthur Okonkwo has them a step away from the Premier League.

It may be easy to look at last season and say “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”. However, using the same player profiles as we saw in League One could mean they’ll be back in the third tier sooner than we hope.

As always, it’ll be a busy summer for the Red Dragons, who prepare for their first season in the second tier of English football since 1981-82.

Wrexham’s successful League One formula

When Wrexham began their ascent up the EFL pyramid in 2022-23, they did so with an aggressive attacking approach, relying on the quality of numerous players competing at a level well below what they’re used to.

Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, and company helped deliver them the National League title that season, and they, along with Arthur Okonkwo and Elliott Lee, were terrific in their League Two promotion in 2023-24.

Neither of those campaigns were a cakewalk as Phil Parkinson’s men had to fight for every point down the stretch of both of those campaigns. At the same time, the 2024-25 League One campaign was much more of a grind. Nine of their victories domestically were by a 1-0 margin, while 17 of their 27 triumphs were by a single goal.

It was a different approach that Parkinson adopted to move up from League One, and it worked, thanks to their incredible commitment to defending at every position, and the likes of Sam Smith, Steven Fletcher and Ollie Rathbone producing moments of brilliance.

While Wrexham made it out of League One, and deservedly so, it was often more nerve-racking than either of their previous two campaigns.

Wrexham are lacking dynamic attacking players

While the temptation might be to stick with what worked last season, the harsh reality of EFL football is that the longer you stick to your guns, the quicker your opponents will begin to catch on.

The likes of George Dobson, Matty James and James McClean were invaluable last season as their peskiness and work rate made life extremely difficult for the opposition. Any team would be lucky to have those kinds of players, who never stop running and do a tremendous job at breaking up the opposition's attacking build-ups.

At the same time, it would be rather naïve though to think this team can get by in the Championship by sustaining so much pressure and hoping they convert the one or two opportunities they produce going forward. It’s a formula that would likely immediately see them relegated from the Championship and, while gritty, hard-working midfielders never get the credit they deserve, you need dynamism to survive in the third tier and lots of it.

If they are to consistently compete in the second tier, Parkinson needs players who can create and put players like Sam Smith in great scoring positions. According to FotMob, the Red Dragons were 12th in League One last season for big chances (92) and 13th in the league for expected goals (55.1).

That’s not to say there aren’t chance creators in the team already, as Ryan Barnett finished second in the league for assists, while Ryan Longman added a lot in that department in the winter transfer window. Relying on great crosses, strong, wide play, and the massive work of Smith to create his own chances might make it much easier for Wrexham’s Championship opponents to contain them, though.

Wrexham must help Phil Parkinson with an aggressive transfer window

At the moment, there aren’t many players with much Championship experience in this team and even fewer creative central midfielders with the vision and technical ability of a number 10. As Manchester City discovered in 2024-25, you cannot always depend on the usual suspects to take you to the promised land. Eventually, teams will catch on to that, but when you’re moving up to a higher level, you need to adjust accordingly to ensure you have an approach and the personnel to compete.

Parkinson and the front office know they’d be hard-pressed to compete consistently with their current squad. They may be the new kids on the block next season, but whether they like it or not, Wrexham have a bullseye on their crest and Championship teams will be eager to knock them down a peg.

Replenishing the squad with experienced and creative central midfielders has to be priority number one for Parkinson to put together a decent tactical approach that can make the Red Dragons successful in 2025-26.

The attack is obviously another area that needs to be addressed, too. Smith didn’t get anywhere near proper service, and one cannot expect him to create his own scoring opportunities for an entire Championship campaign.

Overall, this squad needs to be replenished with more dynamism in the middle of the field and quality in the attacking third in 2025-26. It is up to the owners and front office to get Parkinson a squad that fits that attacking profile.

Wrexham could achieve great things in the Championship next season with a blend of attacking quality and creativity. They need to be aggressive in solving both issues.