Wrexham AFC urged to complete transfer reunion with 18-goal Barnsley star - He would be "the ideal candidate" | OneFootball

Wrexham AFC have plenty of work to do this summer and have already been linked with a move for Davis Keillor-Dunn

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 are gearing up for potentially their toughest challenge yet: surviving and competing in the Championship.

They're going to need a boost in firepower to do so and, as exclusively revealed by Football League World, Wrexham are looking at Barnsley attacker Davis Keillor-Dunn amid competition from Oxford United and QPR.

The 27-year-old did have a brief stint with the Red Dragons in the 2019/20 season, appearing six times and scoring one goal, but has come on leaps and bounds since then.

We asked our Wrexham Fan Pundit, Liam Grice, whether Keillor-Dunn is the right man to help the Welsh side with their transition to the second tier.

Speaking to FLW, Liam expressed regret about Keillor-Dunn's departure back in 2020 and believes that the Tykes talisman would represent the "ideal candidate" for Phil Parkinson to recruit in the attacking midfield role.

He said: “Davis Keillor-Dunn is a player I really wish hadn’t left in 2020.

“He was a joy to watch whenever he was on the ball. Obviously, from when he was in Scotland, improved a lot, has come back to England with Mansfield and now Barnsley and pretty much lit up League One, I think it’s fair to say, had a tremendous campaign.

“Over 20 goal contributions in a mid-table side is pretty good going. I think he's definitely what Wrexham needs, to be honest, in that attacking-midfield area, and he's the ideal candidate for me.

“He will cost a lot, Barnsley won't want to let him go, but I do think we’ll be able to pry him away on the contract side of things, it's just whether we can negotiate for you with Barnsley, that’s the issue for me.”

It’s time for Keillor-Dunn to test himself

Keillor-Dunn performed well at Oldham Athletic a few years ago, but the past two seasons have undoubtedly been the strongest of his career.

He kicked things off with a remarkable 22 goals and nine assists in League Two for Mansfield Town, helping the side to promotion and earning himself a move to third-tier side Barnsley.

It was an unexpectedly difficult season for the Tykes, but the Sunderland-born attacker kept up his side of the bargain, registering 18 goals and five assists this time, seemingly taking the jump in division in his stride.

Given that track record, it would seem sensible for Keillor-Dunn to take the next step up, especially given he’s now firmly in his prime years and hitting the form of his life; it could be now or never.

For that reason, Liam is likely right that the player’s side of the negotiation won’t be too difficult, but agreeing a fee with Barnsley certainly could be.

They splashed out £700,000 to bring him to Oakwell less than 12 months ago, signing a three-year contract on arrival, with a club option for an additional year.

Given his contract length and the season Keillor-Dunn has had, unless the player kicks up a fuss publicly, Barnsley are in about as strong a position as they could ever hope to be to set his price.

His performance in League One this season will make him even more valuable than he was when the Tykes signed him, so they will without doubt be looking to make a profit.

Wrexham are no strangers to dropping significant money on a player they want, but Barnsley will be in no rush to get Keillor-Dunn off their books if they can help it.