Wrexham director reveals club U-turn on record-breaking £19m star during January window

The Red Dragons have become synonymous with ambitious recruitment since their high-profile takeover, but Harvey revealed that even the deepest pockets have their limits in the Championship. Cherif, who had been catching the eye at French outfit Angers, was high on the club's shortlist before they performed a late U-turn on the deal.

Cherif eventually secured a £22m ($27m) move to Turkish giants Fenerbahce, a figure that would have shattered the Championship transfer record had Wrexham followed through. While the funds were technically available, the administrative team at the Racecourse Ground felt the sheer scale of the investment did not align with their long-term strategy.

“He was one that we looked at that was definitely going to be at the top end of the money that we had available,” Harvey explained during an appearance on the Fearless in Devotion podcast. "When I say available, I mean under the PSR limits, so you are limited."

The decision to back away from the 19-year-old Guinea-born forward was heavily influenced by the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Despite the commercial juggernaut that Wrexham has become under Reynolds and Mac, the club remain bound by the same financial constraints as their rivals in the second tier.

“It doesn't matter how much money you've got, you can only lose so much in a three-year period,” Harvey added. "We had a look but the challenge with that deal was that he's a player that's on the up and it was going to be expensive. We had the money to spend, but the final analysis basically came down to that it didn't represent value in this particular transfer window."

Rather than putting all their eggs in one basket with a blockbuster move for Cherif, Wrexham opted for a more balanced approach to their mid-season reinforcement. The club instead utilised a £5m budget to bring in a trio of players designed to provide depth and quality across the pitch as they hunt for a historic third consecutive promotion.

The January arrivals included Barnsley’s Davis Keillor-Dunn and Bristol City defender Zak Vyner, providing experience and stability. To round off their business, Wrexham secured the signature of Sheffield Wednesday striker Bailey Cadamarteri in a deal worth £1m, ensuring manager Phil Parkinson had sufficient firepower for the run-in.

"January is never going to be a big transfer window,” Harvey said. “We took our normal approach and that was to look for those opportunities where they existed to strengthen the existing squad.

"Phil [Parkinson] has made his name at the club by keeping a harmonious dressing room as far as is practically possible.

"On the basis that you can only pick eleven players to start any one game, there's always bound to be some disquiet at some stage.

"But how he's managed that has been massively successful. It was against the backdrop of making 13 new signings in the summer window."

Beyond the spreadsheets, Parkinson and the Wrexham board were wary of disrupting the chemistry of a squad that has already exceeded expectations this term. Sitting sixth in the table at the time of the window, the focus was on evolutionary rather than revolutionary changes to the first-team dynamic.

"The fact that we can't get away from is that we are sixth in the league. Whilst we want to strengthen, we definitely don't want to be upsetting the apple cart," the director added. 

By opting for a U-turn on the Cherif deal, Wrexham have prioritised the harmony of the current group over the allure of a marquee "Hollywood" signing, trusting Parkinson’s established stars to lead the charge toward the Premier League.