Exclusive: Birmingham City and Wrexham AFC set to miss out on Burnley transfer | OneFootball

Birmingham City and Wrexham are set to miss out on Burnley's CJ Egan-Riley after plotting an ambitious move for the defender, FLW has learned

Birmingham City and Wrexham had both plotted ambitious swoops for CJ Egan-Riley ahead of his impending departure from Burnley - but the big-spending duo are now set to miss out at the hands of impressive Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

Both sides are intent on making waves in this summer's transfer window, and Blues in particular have been tipped to compete for promotion to the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign after walking to the League One title with a record-breaking haul of 111 points last time out.

Birmingham, of course, are strongly backed by Knighthead's ambitious and lavish project, which has seen them make a number of eye-catching moves over the last twelve months.

According to Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett, both Blues and fellow big-spenders Wrexham - who also gained promotion from League One last month - will be looking to rival recently-relegated clubs in Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton and even Premier League teams for signings this summer, and they each have the financial muscle and natural pull power to complete some seriously exciting deals this summer.

Birmingham City, Wrexham miss out on shock deal for Burnley's CJ Egan-Riley

FLW has learned that Burnley defender Egan-Riley, who is set to leave Turf Moor at the end of his contract later this month in order to seal a move elsewhere, was on Birmingham's radar in what would have been an undoubted statement of intent from Chris Davies' side.

It's also understood that Wrexham have held an interest, although Egan-Riley will not be heading back to the Championship this summer after helping Burnley to promotion under Scott Parker.

The ambitious Second City club look set to be disappointed in any pitch to the 22-year-old England Under-21 international who is heading overseas.

Egan-Riley was part of a miserly Clarets’ backline that conceded just 16 goals throughout their promotion-winning campaign from the Championship.

And the youngster was a near-ever present for Parker throughout a season when the former England international celebrated another elevation from the second tier, having done likewise with Bournemouth and Fulham.

But Egan-Riley is now out-of-contract and a host of clubs have tried their luck to land a player who is going to be one of the most sought-after talents this summer.

However, it appears that they are out of luck as Strasbourg have already stolen a march on the competition. Strasbourg, who are managed by former Hull City head coach Liam Rosenior, will compete in next season's UEFA Europa Conference League after finishing 7th in Ligue 1, a factor which will have no doubt formed part of Egan-Riley's thinking.

Both Birmingham and Wrexham were interested in the centre-half.

But a move back into the Championship - no matter the club - would not be seen as progression as the former Manchester City trainee looks to advance his career.

Birmingham City and Wrexham will compete for other defensive targets

There is a great deal of symmetry between Birmingham and Wrexham, who are both armed with colossal budgets and the backing of Stateside ownership and will be competing in the same ambitious markets this summer.

Either Davies or Phil Parkinson could have made a huge statement of intent by acquiring Egan-Riley, but another defender that has been on the radar is Swansea City's Harry Darling.

The former MK Dons star, who has excelled in South Wales over the last three Championship campaigns, is looking increasingly likely to leave the Swansea.com Stadium on a free transfer once his contract expires at the end of this month and has been linked with Birmingham and Wrexham alongside Norwich City and Sheffield United, too.

It does seem as though Darling will have a new club in the coming weeks and one would expect the race between Birmingham and Wrexham to intensify on that front after missing out on Egan-Riley, while it also appears perfectly plausible that they will go toe-to-toe for several other targets across the course of the summer.