Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney may scupper ‘under the radar’ transfer plan as Phil Parkinson airs hopes for summer window at Wrexham

The Red Dragons are in the process of piecing together a recruitment blueprint for the summer of 2024. Having seen back-to-back promotions lift them into League One, more tinkering on the squad building front is required.

Wrexham have released eight players, in bid to free up space for new recruits, and Parkinson has said of how he intends to enter another congested market: “We’re obviously ambitious and we’re going to work very hard to build a squad which is competitive, there’s no question about that. But we don’t want to get carried away with ourselves – we want to go under the radar a little bit in the summer and see what kind of quality players we bring in. I’ve been spending the last few days looking at some League One games, watching the play-offs, and looking at the levels, looking at the physical data which we’ve got available at where we need to be physically. It’s a whole range of qualities we need to add to have another season which our supporters can be proud of.”

With Hollywood co-owners Reynolds and McElhenney on board, any business at Wrexham falls under the brightest of spotlights. Parkinson will, however, continue to favour a considered approach to transfer business. He added: “You can get players in early, but sometimes the ones you really want will take a bit longer to get. It’s a balance which you’ve got to strike right. Like James McClean for instance, didn’t come on the American trip with us and it took us to the start of the season to secure that signing. But obviously we were speaking to him while we were out in America. Certain situations with players under contract take time, other players who are out of contract have options and deliberate longer than you would like. It’s sometimes best to wait for that extra bit of quality.”

There is no rush for the Red Dragons to get fresh faces on board, as they already have plenty of talent at their disposal. They are heading back to North America for another pre-season tour and would like to have bodies on board by then, but money will not be spent for the sake of it in North Wales.