Wrexham’s pursuit of Championship legend is surely now dead in the water after latest development

Wrexham will surely move on from any pursuits involving one Championship legend, with one development likely to see him stay at his club.

With the pre-season period now underway for Wrexham, it hasn’t stopped the club from looking to further add to Phil Parkinson’s squad ahead of the 2025/26 Championship season.

Parkinson has identified the midfield as a notable area for concern, with Wrexham being linked to several stars in this area.

There has been a vast interest from Wrexham in Lewis O’Brien, whilst free agents, such as Tom Cairney, have also previously been linked with a move to North Wales.

To add to that list, Wrexham were keen to bring in a Championship midfielder with 374 appearances in the second tier, but one recent development looks to have killed any hopes that Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac may have had of signing him.

Wrexham face a huge wall in the potential pursuit of Barry Bannan from Sheffield Wednesday

Wrexham were linked with Sheffield Wednesday star Barry Bannan due to the fact that the Scotsman had become a free agent, although the Owls midfielder was keen to stay at the South Yorkshire club.

As the financial situation at Sheffield Wednesday continued to deteriorate under the stewardship of Dejphon Chansiri, there was a chance that Bannan could have been forced to look elsewhere for his club for the upcoming season; however, it now looks more likely that a takeover could be completed in the next few weeks.

The indicator for Sheffield Wednesday getting closer to a change in direction regarding ownership was the return of boss Danny Rohl, who had been away from the club due to a dispute with Chansiri. The news came from an update from Rob Staton, Via X.

It would be highly likely that a takeover would lead to Bannan being handed new terms at Sheffield Wednesday, ending any potential interest from Wrexham.

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  Photo by Scott Llewellyn | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
  Danny Rohl return is the hammer in the nail for Wrexham’s chances of Barry Bannan signing
  Wrexham have been looking to bring in midfielders with vast experience playing at Championship level, and ideally on a free, making Sheffield Wednesday star Barry Bannan a brilliant option for Phil Parkinson’s side.

Unfortunately, the news that Rohl is returning to Hillsborough kills the chances of that. Not only does Bannan have a desire to stay at Sheffield Wednesday, but his admiration for Rohl will only strengthen his reasoning behind turning down any potential Wrexham approach.

Back in April 2024, Bannan said: “The way he studies other teams and their weaknesses has been brilliant for us. He’s helped us loads.

“The players have to take some credit, but a lot of it is down to the manager since he came in because he’s blown me away really.”

For now, Wrexham will need to look elsewhere in order to bolster Parkinson’s midfield before the 2025/26 season kicks off.