TST Comes and Goes as Transfer Rumors Heat Up
After the Red Dragons disappoint at the third annual TST, reports of the real Wrexham's transfer interests begin to firm up.
TST was a fun distraction, but the Dragons returned once more without the million-dollar prize.
The Wrecap: TST Edition
Men’s Tournament
Wrexham faced Real Athletico in Game One, a team composed of athletes from mostly American sports teams - none of which were soccer/football players. Wrexham were expected to blow them away…but they certainly did not. The match was well-played (if a bit dull) from both sides. Wrexham went into Target Score Time with a 2-1 advantage, and George Boyd scored the winner when the squads fell to 3v3.
Game Two against AFC Bournemouth should have been a marquee matchup…instead, it was mostly a blowout for Wrexham, who led 5-0 heading into TST. Bournemouth would get their first goal from a penalty before sneaking in a second, but ultimately Marc Albrighton scored the winner when the game got down to 3v3.
In game three, we held our own against CONCAFA SC, but ultimately fell 3-1. It didn’t matter, though, as Wrexham still advanced to the bracket easily after claiming the second seed in the group. That sent us to the Round of 32, but Drip FC made quick work of Wrexham, scoring twice in the first three minutes. By target score time it was 5-0 and despite two consolation goals, Drip flushed Wrexham’s tournament away 6-2.
In both of the previous tournaments, Wrexham were eliminated in the round of 16, so to miss that mark is a bit disappointing.
Women’s Tournament
For forty minutes, Game One for the women was going swimmingly. They piled on three goals in the first half, a fourth in the second half, and only needed one against Ultrain FC to finish off an easy victory. Unfortunately, they completely wasted the chance to earn their first TST victory. Ultrain FC staged an epic five-goal comeback in Target Score Time, taking Wrexham all the way to 2v2 for a devastating 5-4 loss.
In game two, the Drunken Monkey absolutely decimated the squad, going into TST up 4-0. Wrexham gave away a penalty and that was that: Wrexham lost the first two matches after conceding ten straight unanswered goals. Ultrain’s Win over Kansas City II meant the Women’s squad was, for the second consecutive year, eliminated in the group stage before playing their final match. Not that it would have made a difference: KCII went on to beat Wrexham in the third match 6-3, making the women’s squad winless in back-to-back tournaments.
News from the Week:
Wrexham Announce Partnership with The Coaching Manual
Wrexham announced a new “strategic partnership” with The Coaching Manual last week, intended to strengthen “the development of players and coaches throughout the Club and Wrexham AFC Foundation programmes.” The Coaching Manual offers camps as well as virtual and in-person football education for coaches, clubs, and front-office staff. On the partnership, the club wrote in its press release:
Through this partnership, Wrexham AFC coaches will gain access to a comprehensive library of world-class coaching resources, including session plans, video tutorials, and mentoring materials, all curated by top football professionals.
Rumor Round Up
The transfer window is open! For now. The window will be open from 6/1 - 6/10 and then close for the FIFA Club World Cup. It will open again from 6/16 - 9/1.
Here are the latest names linked with the Dragons:
Lewis Travis
Wrexham are reportedly monitoring Blackburn Rovers captain Lewis Travis. The midfielder still has a year left on his contract, so this would be a true transfer if Wrexham acted.
I’m not convinced they will. Travis is a defensive midfielder, something Phil has moved away from throughout the 24/25 campaign. Regular central midfield depth is fairly deep at this point and if Phil were to move for a challenger to Dobson/Rathbone/James’ spots, I don’t think Travis tops that list.
Danny Ward
Sky Sports is reporting that Wrexham have interest in Danny Ward, a 31-year-old Welsh goalkeeper who was born in Wrexham and made his professional debut with the club. With 44 caps for the National squad, Ward would certainly be a good signing from a national pride standpoint…and that’s about it. He was released by Leicester City for good reason: he’s been a mediocre backup keeper for years now. I would honestly want to see what McNicholas can offer between the posts before turning to Ward, making him fourth in line behind McNicholas, Burton, and Okonkwo. If we need someone else for coverage, I’d rather we invest in another young talent that can be loaned out, much like McNicholas has been these last two years. The third-choice role isn’t one to be coveted (just ask Mark Howard), but I think McNicholas has earned it at this point. It’s a pass from me.
Updates:
Danny Ings
Various sources are reporting that Wrexham are in active talks with Ings’ camp and are “aggressively” pursuing the veteran striker. As I said last week, I think Ings could be a good fit…but he does have a lengthy history of injury. I’m wondering if that will change how much Wrexham need to cough up to sign him.
Ben Davies
Davies’ contract with Tottenham has been extended by another year. I never thought this deal was likely to materialize, but it would seem off the table at this point. I’m crossing him off the tracker.
Get to Know The Championship
With a new league comes new competition. Throughout the summer editions of the Wreader I’m going to provide a little profile of each club, two per week, for those subscribers new to the English Football Pyramid.
Millwall FC
Location: Bermondsey, South East London, England
Founded: 1885
Nickname(s): The Lions
Ownership: Millwall Holdings
Last Season: 8th in the Championship
Despite having left the Millwall area in 1910, Millwall FC have remained one of the most recognizable names in the second and third tiers of English football for over a century. This is partially due to their fandom, which has a long and robust history of hooliganism, led primarily by the fan group Millwall Bushwackers, who have been at the center of numerous football-related riots. Fans seated in the club’s terrace section lean into this reputation and are known to chant “No one likes us, we don’t care.”
Hooliganism aside, The Lions have remained a very successful club throughout their long history. They’ve been in the second tier for thirteen of the past fifteen seasons, dropping to League One for only the 15/16 and 16/17 campaigns — but they also have only spent two seasons in the first tier of the pyramid: 88/89 and 89/90, meaning they’ve never been in the first tier since it became the Premier League.
They came up two slots shy of the playoffs last season, their fourth time finishing in eighth in the last fifteen years (and the highest they’ve been since 2002 when they finished in fourth). Offensively, they were led last season by striker Mihailo Ivanovic — who scored twelve goals— as well as George Honeyman and Femi Azeez, who contributed five assists each. Defensively, they were supported by fullbacks Ryan Leonard and Joe Bryan, who were also the club’s top-two players via FotMob rating. All of those players remain under contract, with only four players (most notably striker Aaron Connolly) set to leave this summer.
There’s a real chance Millwall could make a serious playoff push next season, but only if they boost their central defense and add some more firepower up front. They might have finished in eighth, but not due to their overpowering offense: they only scored forty-seven goals last season — the third lowest out of all twenty-four teams. I think it’s more likely to see The Lions slip to mid-table than it is to see them join the playoff fight next year.
Norwich City FC
Location: Norwich, Norfolk, England
Founded: 1902
Nickname(s): The Yellows, The Canaries
Ownership: Mark Attanasio (also owns MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers)
Last Season: 13th in the Championship
In the last fifteen years, five-time second-tier champions Norwich City have bounced between the Premier League and the Championship four times, the longest being a three-season stay between 2011 and 2014. The subsequent three journeys to the top tier were all last place or second-to-last place round-trips, the latest coming in 21/22. They then rose from thirteenth to the final playoff slot in sixth, only to fall right back to thirteenth again last season. As a result, manager Johannes Hoff Thorup was sacked back in April, with coach Jack Wilshere taking over for the rest of the season.
Now they have a new manager: Liam Manning, who wasimported from fellow Championship side Bristol City and has hit the ground running with his new club, already inking his first signing of the transfer window. That signing was keeper Daniel Grimshaw of Plymouth Argyle, probably to serve as the backup keeper, although primary keeper Angus Gunn is set to depart the club along with four other players, including loaned center back Callum Doyle of the Man City academy. Doyle was excellent for the Yellows last year, chipping in six assists from the back to join top-scorer Borja Sainz (18 goals), his striking partner Joshua Sargent (15 goals), and midfielder Kenny McLean as one the squad’s top-rated players. Sainz was not only the Canaries’ top-scorer, he was one away from tying Leeds’ Joel Piroe for top-scorer in the league last year.
The result of all those stats I just tossed out? Norwich finished in thirteenth but, remarkably, with the second-highest goal-scoring total: seventy-one goals. Only champions Leeds scored more with ninety-five. This highlights their main off-season task: boosting their defense. The sixty-eight goals they conceded are what dragged them down so low, so be on the lookout for more defensive changes from the new boss. If they’re able to add some quality (perhaps sign Doyle permanently?), they could be a force to be reckoned with. I wouldn’t rule Norwich out of a playoff run in 25/26.
The transfer tracker is back! Throughout the summer, I’ll keep a rolling summary of Wrexham’s comings and goings at the end of each newsletter.
Updates this week:
Sam Dalby joined Bolton Wanderers on a 4-year contract
Arrivals
None
Departures
Mark Howard »»» Currently a free agent
Steven Fletcher »»» Currently a free agent
Josh Adam »»» Currently a free agent
Jordan Davies »»» Currently a free agent
Harry Dean »»» Currently a free agent
Brad Foster »»» Currently a free agent
Liam Hall »»» Currently a free agent
Sam Dalby »»» Joined Bolton Wanderers on a 4-year contract
Known Offers
James Rainbird (pending recovery)
Tom Cairney (reportedly)
Rumored Interest
Jamie Vardy
Tom Lawrence
Charlie Savage
Sunusi Ibrahim
Aaron Cresswell
Lewis O’BrienBen Davies - Extended with Tottenham
Myles Peart-Harris
Danny Ings
Danny Ward
