Wrexham sign Arsenal academy graduate in £6.5m transfer

Sheaf has signed a Wrexham contract unitl 2028, with the option of a further 12 months. BBC Sport earlier reported the club will pay "in the region of" £6.5 million ($8.8m) for Sheaf, who was considered one of the Championship's top midfielders last season. This season, however, the 27-year-old found himself out of favour with Coventry boss Frank Lampard and the opportunity to move in search of more playing time is welcome.

Sheaf, developed by Arsenal's academy and going on to play three times for the Gunners first-team, extends Wrexham's already league-high net spend for the summer window. It might have been even higher, but for the pursuits of Rennes midfielder Jordan James and Bristol City defender Zak Vyner not coming to fruition.

Speaking as part of Wrexham's announcement, Sheaf said: "The trajectory the club is on, I'm excited to be on board with that. From speaking to the manager, and from the ambition of the owners, it's clear it's only going one way. I'm looking forward to contributing.

"Change is always good, the move gets me out of my comfort zone – I've had some really good moments with Coventry and some memorable times but it's come to a time to look for something new and something exciting. When the opportunity to move to Wrexham came up, it's something I really wanted to be able to do – I'm excited to get started now."

The £6.5m fee doesn't threaten Wrexham's club record, which is the £10m ($13.5m) spent on Ipswich Town's Nathan Broadhead last month. However, it will immediately place Sheaf second on the list, ahead of £5m (£7m) capture Lewis O'Brien.

With the international break pausing the Championship schedule until mid-September, Wrexham will have time to take stock and further gel all of the summer's new faces, before hosting Queens Park Rangers on September 13. Phil Parkinson's Dragons won a first league game of the season in their last outing against Millwall.