Ryan Reynolds set to land £3m captain for Wrexham as rival boss says he 'crossed a line' | OneFootball

Wrexham are set to announce the signing of Preston North End captain Ben Whiteman after the midfielder completed a medical on Tuesday. The fee is reportedly about £3m.

Phil Parkinson's side are targeting a historic promotion to the Premier League after narrowly missing the 2025/26 play-offs. Last week full-back Danny Imray became their first summer signing, joining from Crystal Palace for about £5m.

The 30-year-old has made over 200 appearances for Preston and was appointed captain ahead of 2024/25. He previously represented Sheffield United, Mansfield Town and Doncaster Rovers, bringing significant EFL experience.

“Ben knew there was a line I didn't want him to cross and unfortunately he has,” said Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom, who told BBC Radio Lancashire. “There's a valuation on him, I just hope for Ben's sake that Wrexham are willing to pay it otherwise he's put himself in a sticky situation.”

Wrexham had also been linked with West Brom midfielder Jayson Molumby, but Whiteman's arrival likely means that pursuit will not continue. Sheffield Wednesday are meanwhile advancing in talks to take George Dobson on loan.

“Last year, we arrived in the Championship and had a few months to build an entire Championship roster. Phil, Michael [Williamson] and Shaun [Harvey] did a great job, and we came up just short of the play-offs,” Ryan Reynolds told Sports Illustrated.

“This is a different brief this season. Like a home renovation show... this episode is about making the kitchen work better rather than doing a whole-house renovation.”

Source: Wales Online

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”