Wrexham council manager Humphrey Ker has described the transfer speculation surrounding the club as “exciting”.
However, he has played down rumors that the Red Dragons will break the Championship’s transfer record.
3
Ipswich’s acquisition of Norwegian winger Sindre Walle Egeli in August set a new league record at the start of the season.
The Tractor Boys dropped £17.3m to sign the 19-year-old from Nordsjaelland.
Meanwhile, Phil Parkinson’s side spent over £30m on 14 new signings in the summer.
These deals also included exceeding the club’s record fee several times.
The £10 million paid for Nathan Broadhead is currently the most the club has ever spent on a single player.
However, reports this week have linked Wrexham with a move worth almost double that.
The club were rumored to have made a £19million bid for Angers striker Sidiki Cherif, who has also attracted interest from Crystal Palace.
It’s a potential deal that would surpass the existing Championship record fee.
Wrexham boss on transfer rumours
However, Ker played down the reported interest as mere “speculation” following his appearance on The Pitch Prospect Breakfast.
As he joined Shebahn Aherne and Ray Parlour, he was asked about the reports of an offer from Wrexham.
3
Ker explained: “We were all as excited as anyone else when we read about it on the internet. From what I understand, it’s a lot of exciting speculation.”
“We’re looking at a lot of different players at the moment but to say we’ve made an offer of £19m I’m not sure that’s 100 per cent correct.”
Who is actually after Cherif?
The Pitch Prospect understands that Premier League club Palace are actively pursuing the teenage superstar.
Genoa’s Jeff Ekhator is an option for the Eagles if they fail to sign Cherif, who also has interest from Portugal.
Genoa are willing to approve a sale for around £15.6million and have had direct offers for the Italy U21 striker this winter.
3
Palace have also started talks with Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen – with Jean-Philippe Mateta pushing to leave Selhurst Park this month.
What is the hype about?
Cherif has scored four goals in 18 Ligue 1 games for Angers so far this season.
The 19-year-old is also a former France youth international, having previously represented Les Bleus at U16 level.
Wrexham coach Parkinson was also asked about the reports during his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, he admitted: “There are many names that we are associated with and some have some truth, some don’t.”
“In this phase of the window there are inquiries, discussions are ongoing.
Top 10 record transfers in the championship
Fees according to transfer market
- Sindre Walle Egeli to Ipswich – £17.3m
- Mike Tresor to Burnley – £15.6m
- Ruben Neves to Burnley – £15.5m
- Britt Assombalonga to Middlesbrough – £14.8m
- Helder Costa to Wolves – £13m
- Joao Carvalho to Nottingham Forest – £13m
- Ross McCormack to Aston Villa – £12.4m
- Harry Wilson to Fulham – £12.1m
- Joel Piroe to Leeds – £12.1m
- Finn Azaz to Southampton – £12m
“Sometimes they come to fruition and sometimes they don’t, that’s all I can say about the transfer targets at the moment. I’m firmly focused on the players we have.”
The Red Dragons travel to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, a win could see them into the play-offs.
The midweek draw with Leicester leaves Wrexham ninth in the Championship, two points off the top six.
Before last weekend’s defeat against Norwich, they had won four in a row in the league.