Wrexham's line-up next season after 11 players leave and four stars sign
Wrexham are back in the English Football League (EFL) after winning this season's National League title, ending their 15-year exile.
But if the Welsh club want to stay in the EFL, or challenge for promotion from League Two, they will need to bring in some fresh faces this summer. Manager Phil Parkinson already boasts an impressive squad but knows there is always room for improvement.
Wrexham's Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want to sign Gareth Bale, but that is highly unlikely to happen. Yet there's a chance they will lure some more former internationals to the Racecourse after persuading Ben Foster out of retirement.
Wrexham want to keep hold of Ben Foster between the sticks (Getty Images)Foster's short-term deal with Wrexham will expire shortly, but the club are in talks with the former England goalkeeper, 40, over an extension. It will be difficult for Foster to say no after the joyous celebrations that followed Wrexham's title triumph.
One area of the team that Parkinson doesn't need to worry about too much is the defence. Wrexham boasted the third-best defence in the National League this season thanks to a solid back three, with Jordan Tunnicliffe, Ben Tozer, Eoghan O'Connell, Aaron Hayden and Thomas O'Connor all impressing at different times in the year.
Ryan Reynolds mispronounces name of new Wrexham signing in hilarious video
O'Connell, 27, is likely to continue playing in defence having only signed from Charlton in January. Tunnicliffe, 29, Tozer, 33, Hayden, 26, and O'Connor, 24, also have EFL experience and will continue playing while Parkinson looks for long-term replacements.
How Wrexham could line up next seasonWho do you think Wrexham should sign this summer? Let us know in the comments below!
At right-wing-back, Ryan Barnett, 23, was snapped up from Solihull Moors in February and will be confident of playing in League Two next season. On the opposite flank, Danny Rose could make a shock move to Wrexham to reignite his football career.
The Champions League finalist, 32, has expressed a desire to make a comeback but will want the right club after a year out of the game. Considering the bond between Reynolds, McElhenney and the club's employees, Wrexham could be the perfect fit.
The same could be said about Danny Drinkwater, who would be a huge coup for the Welsh club. The Premier League winner, 33, has also been without a club since last summer but recently admitted he was "waiting for an offer to excite me". You heard him, Wrexham.
Drinkwater could form a partnership with James Jones in midfield. The Scot, 27, has played 88 games for Wrexham during the last two years and has plenty of experience in the EFL, making more than 200 appearances in League One and League Two combined.
In terms of the No.10 role, Jonny Williams would be an ideal candidate. The Welshman, 29, helped his country reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and has played at every level in the Football League. His contract with Swindon will expire next month.
But who plays alongside Paul Mullin? The 28-year-old could be joined by his former strike partner Joe Ironside, 29, who has just been released. The pair scored 48 goals between them to fire Cambridge to promotion from League Two during the 2020/21 campaign.
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