Wrexham AFC must send scouts to watch Leeds star and Tom Bradshaw, here's why | OneFootball

At Football League World we have taken a look at two players Wrexham scouts should be evaluating.

Wrexham's monumental rise up the divisions has been quite the story since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney arrived at the Racecourse in 2020.

After a record-breaking season in the National League, where they amassed 111 points, Wrexham secured promotion from League Two. Now, approaching the latter stages of 2024, they sit second in League One, with only Wycombe Wanderers above them.

The current campaign has been built on a solid defence with Phil Parkinson's 5-3-2 formation persistently shutting out the opposition. This has seen them concede just 11 goals in the league, with 10 clean sheets to partner that statistic.

Meanwhile, at the top end of the pitch, they have managed to score 26 goals but have struggled to find contributions from their strikers since Jack Marriott got injured.

In addition, the underlying statistics suggest that Wrexham far exceed their expected goals (xG), making it likely that they won't upkeep their current conversion rate.

With this in mind, Football League World have taken a look at two players the Red Dragons should be scouting ahead of a potentially busy New Year.

Charlie Crew

While Wrexham are well-positioned for a push towards promotion, strengthening their squad with more Welsh talent would only be a more exciting proposition for supporters, and one player worth scouting ahead of a potential loan move is Charlie Crew.

The 18-year-old is currently at Leeds United and has been hotly tipped as a future star for the Whites.

Speaking at the EFL awards last April, former Leeds stars Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville both said they'd been impressed by what they'd seen from the youngster.

Since then, he has made his Championship debut for Daniel Farke's side and achieved the rare feat of being a fully fledged international before appearing for his club.

If Leeds have future ambitions of Crew playing for them, then getting him some game-time out on loan would be a sensible move. This should see the Wrexham scouts trying to gather as much information on the youngster, who would seem ready for League One level given his career to date.

A dynamic playmaker, Crew has the potential to enhance Wrexham's attacking output, which could, in turn, help their strikers increase their goal tallies.

Therefore, the Red Dragons' recruitment team should be heading east to Elland Road so they can get an outlook on the 18-year-old before a possible January move, and Leeds may be receptive to it if Ethan Ampadu is back fit and firing by January.

Tom Bradshaw

Having shown interest in the experienced striker in the summer, you would imagine that Wrexham's scouts are actively reviewing Tom Bradshaw's time at Millwall.

According to Alan Nixon, the arrival of January will see Parkinson's side targeting an experienced Championship striker and the former Shrewsbury Town man fits that mould perfectly.

Looking back, his last two full seasons in League One saw him score 17 goals in consecutive campaigns for Walsall. Since then, he has predominantly featured in the second tier and, while he hasn't hit the same numbers, there is enough to suggest he could improve his goal tally in the tier below.

Such a sign is likely to be exactly what Wrexham’s scouts are looking for, and with a contract expiring in London at the end of the season, plus increased competition under Neil Harris with Macaulay Langstaff, Josh Coburn and Mihailo Ivanovic all competing for one place in the starting line-up, Bradshaw will likely not get the chances he desires.