It’s safe to say Wrexham and Birmingham City are pretty big rivals now, and the two clubs are set to go head-to-head in the transfer market this summer.
With superstar owners behind the scenes for both clubs, it was always going to make for an interesting battle between Wrexham and Birmingham this season in League One.
Birmingham won that particular war on the pitch, storming to the league title ahead of the Red Dragons. But, Phil Parkinson’s men still managed to swoop into second place and secure automatic promotion to the Championship.
Buoyed by that historic third-successive promotion, Wrexham now need to build a squad capable of competing in the second tier next season, but Birmingham may look to stifle those efforts.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty ImagesWrexham and Birmingham City both chasing Harry Darling
According to the latest round of reports from Alan Nixon on Patreon, Wrexham have hopes of snapping up centre-half Harry Darling from Welsh rivals Swansea City in the summer. The only issue is Birmingham are also keen.
Nixon wrote: “Promoted pair Birmingham City and Wrexham are fighting it out for Swansea’s classy centre half Harry Darling.
“Blues hope to offer top terms for the ball-playing defender but Wrexham plan to match them financially.
“It may come down to which club sells their chances of making an impact in the Championship to the in-demand free agent.”
This is not the only free defensive signing Wrexham are looking at this summer, with Man Utd’s Jack Kingdon also on their radar.
Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty ImagesHarry Darling has had a brilliant season with Swansea
It remains to be seen whether Wrexham can tempt Darling to stay in Wales and join the party at the Racecourse Ground, or whether Birmingham’s financial muscle and aggressive plans for promotion can steal him away.
Either way, whoever signs Darling will be getting a top defender who comes off the back of an impressive campaign with Swansea.
With five goals and three assists to his name from defence, Darling has made an impact in attacking areas as the Swans swiftly climbed the table in the back end of the campaign.
Data via FBRef
More importantly, he’s been a solid presence at the back, registering a 56.5% tackle success rate and racking up an average of 5.5 clearances per 90 minutes for Swansea.
He also boasts an 87.4% pass success rate, which proves he can bring an air of composure and ball-playing ability to the Wrexham backline if they can persuade him to sign.