Wrexham AFC could be the big winners from Ipswich Town’s Birmingham City transfer hijack | OneFootball

Ipswich Town hijacking Birmingham City's move for Chuba Akpom could assist Wrexham in their pursuit of Nathan Broadhead this summer.

Wrexham are looking to put together a squad that can once again compete above expectations, and their pursuit of Nathan Broadhead could be being handed a boost by Ipswich Town’s hijacking of Chuba Akpom’s move to Birmingham City.

Under the management of Phil Parkinson, the Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds co-owned Red Dragons have propelled themselves from the National League and into the Championship with three successive automatic promotions.

They have embarked upon a busy summer transfer window in which they have spent reasonably heavily with the additions of the likes of Lewis O’Brien, Conor Coady and Liberato Cacace.

As they head into their toughest challenge yet of this current era, Parkinson and Wrexham will be well aware that the step up in quality is set to be immense.

That is why it will be of such significance to them if they can get Broadhead to be a done deal and over the line following Ipswich’s move for Akpom in the last few days’.

Broadhead could now switch after Akpom’s move to Ipswich

In the middle of last week, it was reported that Wrexham were closing in on a move for Wales international attacker Nathan Broadhead for a club record fee of £7.5 million.

The deal has since stalled but developments with regards to the future of Chuba Akpom in the last few days, could finally accelerate his move towards a conclusion.

Ipswich have been relatively busy in the last few weeks of the window, too, following their relegation from the Premier League last season, and they will be expected to challenge for the title in the Championship this year.

The sale of Liam Delap to Chelsea earlier this summer is one that is bound to have them scrambling to add some firepower to the attack, and the Tractor Boys are unlikely to sanction a sale without an incoming guaranteed.

Now it has been reported that Chuba Akpom is due to undergo a medical at Portman Road, after they managed to hijack Birmingham’s agreement with Ajax for the former Middlesbrough attacker.

Akpom’s possible arrival in Suffolk would surely free up Broadhead to depart, especially with Akpom’s versatility across the front-line being something that Broadhead is perhaps best known for at Ipswich.

Broadhead would move to the Racecourse Ground as the key man in an attack that currently boasts the likes of Ollie Palmer, Jack Marriott, Jay Rodriguez, Josh Windass, Ryan Hardie, Modou Faal, Sam Smith and now Kieffer Moore.

Wrexham have their work cut out next season, but Broadhead helps

Wrexham have gone from playing non-league football in 2023 to being just one promotion away from the top-flight by 2025, and that leaves their squad still in a very transitional state.

A lot of the players at the club would perhaps widely be fairly deemed to be not necessarily good enough to be at a promotion challenger in the Championship, which is surely where Wrexham see themselves.

This summer has seen them bring in some well-known names into the second-tier, especially with the likes of Coady and Moore, but there will be a lot more work to do if they are to defy the odds again this season.

Parkinson himself has struggled at Championship level in the past, pretty much every time he has operated in the second-tier, and that will also be a concern.

The addition of Broadhead therefore, someone who gained automatic promotion to the Premier League just two seasons ago, would be a major boost to a club that may not have even considered the possibility they could be looking over their shoulders.

Wrexham begin their return to the second-tier with a trip down to the south coast to face just relegated Southampton at St. Mary’s and the club will be in a rush to get Broadhead over the line for that one, and the dramatic move of Akpom to Ipswich could well assist them in their push.