Summer arrival could save Wrexham’s January transfer blushes in 2024/25 run-in | OneFootball

Wrexham's central playmaking role rests squarely on the shoulders of Ollie Rathbone

Wrexham must continue to put their faith in a key summer signing to become their central playmaker down the stretch of the season.

Ollie Rathbone has been a key figure in the midfield for Phil Parkinson’s men, starting their last 14 League One affairs.

Last weekend, he collected his third assist of the domestic campaign, cleverly setting up the opener from Matty James after just two minutes.

Although Elliott Lee was the hero, with his dramatic last-gasp winner against Crawley Town, Rathbone was once again one of the best players for the North Welsh side throughout the 90 minutes.

Per FotMob, Rathbone led the team with three chances created, plus 51 touches, while only being dispossessed once, with four passes in the final third.

His performances are arguably the biggest reason the Red Dragons are still in the running to claim an automatic promotion for a third successive campaign.

Wrexham failed to sign a new playmaker in January

During the winter transfer window, Wrexham focused most of its attention on adding more goals to the squad but neglected to address a key area.

Their central midfield has some good leaders and guys capable of winning possession, like George Dobson, Rathbone, and Matty James, while Lee has often been used further forward and is more a goalscorer than a creator.

There's no clear playmaker who can provide the service needed for Wrexham’s strikers in that area of the pitch, which leaves a lot of pressure on the likes of Ryan Longman and Ryan Barnett to create from the flanks.

Rathbone is the closest person to a playmaker in this squad who can control games and provide some quality through ball down the middle but he’s got no support in that area.

Wrexham’s winter moves will surely put the onus on him to be that creative midfielder and time will tell if he can consistently adapt to that role.

Ollie Rathbone is living up to the hype at Wrexham

Last August, Wrexham broke their transfer record by signing Ollie Rathbone from Rotherham United.

The 28-year-old from Blackburn joined the Red Dragons on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, though it was confirmed to be a club record at the time.

Whatever the actual fee was, Rathbone’s been worth every penny that the club are paying him at the moment.

After not starting a single League One fixture in August, Rathbone has become arguably the most indispensable player for Parkinson.

He came with plenty of experience from the EFL Championship, featuring in 80 games and over 200 prior caps in League One.

That experience has paid off for the Red Dragons, as he has brought calmness to this group in big moments, with the most recent example coming in their weekend victory over Crawley.

His three goals scored in the league this season are just one fewer than his best-ever total in an entire EFL campaign, with Wrexham unbeaten when he finds the back of the net.

While his winner versus Barnsley was a cracking long-range effort, his ball distribution in the middle have been even more essential to a side lacking a true midfield creator.

Ollie Rathbone is a versatile chance creator

While he’s not creating chances at the same high rate as Barnett, Rathbone is the closest thing that Wrexham have to a midfield playmaker.

He covers so much space between midfield and the attack while winning plenty of free kicks in dangerous areas (29 fouls won this season).

Rathbone is strong defensively, winning over 70% of his tackles domestically (70.8% per FotMob) to go along with a high number of touches in the opposition box (33).

Let’s face it, the Red Dragons haven’t looked like the high-octane attacking side from seasons past, in part because Rathbone hasn’t had much support in terms of chance creation in the middle of the park.

Most of their chances this season have come from Barnett’s crosses out wide, which, good as they may be, become predictable and easy for opposing teams to deal with after a while.

What Rathbone brings is the ability to draw defenders to him, create space and deliver good balls into dangerous areas from central positions.

He may need to continue to be that player and more so that the Red Dragons can stay in the hunt for promotion down the stretch of the campaign.