Wrexham AFC & Derby County in transfer battle for out-of-contract Wolves veteran | OneFootball

The experienced defender is wanted by two Championship outfits

Wrexham and Derby County have both shown an interest in acquiring the services of Craig Dawson, whose contract at Wolverhampton Wanderers is set to expire at the end of the month.

The Red Dragons became the first side in English football history to achieve three promotions on the spin, and with Phil Parkinson at the helm, are looking to bolster their squad further ahead of their first campaign at Championship level for 43 years.

Meanwhile, Derby preserved their second-tier status on the final day of last season under John Eustace, and the former Blackburn Rovers boss is keen to add further experience to the ranks at Pride Park in what is his first pre-season in charge of the East Midlands side, having been installed in the dugout back in February.

Wrexham AFC and Derby County keen on striking Craig Dawson deal amid pending Wolves exit

According to The Sun, both the North Wales club and the Rams have the 35-year-old centre-back on their respective shortlists regarding summer transfer targets, with Dawson out-of-contract at Molineux, having joined the Premier League outfit for £3.3m on a two-and-a-half-year contract from West Ham United in January 2023.

It was reported in February that the defender was in talks with the club to terminate his contract after being omitted from Vitor Pereira's 25-man Premier League squad shortly after the Portuguese's appointment in late December amid interest from Leicester City.

However, the aforementioned fresh report claims that Dawson is still eager to feature regularly for a side in 2025/26, and both Wrexham and Derby are keen to offer him such a proposition in a bid to aid their respective aims heading into the new campaign.

Craig Dawson fits both Wrexham AFC and Derby County transfer plans as summer window briefly opens

As of Sunday June 1st, EFL sides will be able to conduct transfer business for a nine-day period, before the transfer window re-opens from June 16th right through to the deadline of 7PM on September 1st.

Regardless of when either side could get a potential deal for the former England youth international, Dawson certainly fits the bill when it comes to either clubs' respective transfer plans.

Despite having the second-oldest squad by average age in League One last term, Parkinson is looking to add further experience amid reports of a staggering £25m transfer budget, with Football League World exclusively revealing that Wrexham are looking to the versatile Ben Davies away from Tottenham Hotspur, as well as being credited with interest in Aaron Cresswell, who bid farewell to West Ham after 11 years.

Eustace is keen to sign Dawson due to the vast experience he can provide, and is clearly looking to add further bodies to a rearguard which boasted the second-meanest defence in the bottom-half in 2024/25, as his former Ewood Park colleague, Danny Batth, is also on Derby's radar as exclusively revealed by FLW, as well as stating his desire to retain the services of Liverpool loanee, Nat Phillips.

According to ESTIMATED figures from Capology, Dawson's weekly salary at Molineux is £45,000 per week, and potential wage demands could have a huge say in where the Rochdale-born man ends up, with the newly-promoted side looking to send out plenty of statements before the first game of the season.