Wrexham AFC in transfer talks for Premier League veteran from Fulham with £2m+ fee touted | OneFootball

Tom Cairney could be the Red Dragons' first marquee Championship signing

Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney is in talks to join Championship newcomers Wrexham ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The Red Dragons are intending to strengthen significantly after their third successive promotion up the footballing pyramid, with Sky Sports claiming that they expect Phil Parkinson's side to be one of the top spenders outside of the Premier League this summer.

And they are wasting little time in getting stuck into the market, with a move progressing for a player with plenty of Premier League experience.

Wrexham in Tom Cairney transfer talks with Fulham

As reported by Mike McGrath of The Telegraph, the 34-year-old former Scotland international could be heading to North Wales, in what is said to be a club-record deal that would eclipse the £2 million spent on striker Sam Smith in January when he arrived from Reading - albeit the last contract Cairney signed in 2024 is reported to run out next month.

Cairney has been a Fulham player since 2015 when the Cottagers signed him from Blackburn Rovers, but despite still appearing 23 times in the Premier League last season, the midfielder could drop down a level to link up with Phil Parkinson.

It would be an ambitious show of intent from Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who have helped to guide the Red Dragons from the National League to the Championship with three promotions on the spin.

Over the course of his Fulham career, Cairney has played 131 times in the top flight of English football, as well as a further 191 matches in the Championship and the play-offs, scoring 46 times for the West London outfit.

Wrexham have an ageing midfield already - Tom Cairney would add to that

It's fair to say that plenty of Wrexham's recent signings over the years are on the more experienced side rather than the up-and-coming, with the aforementioned Smith's January arrival coming at the same time as veteran striker Jay Rodriguez.

Wrexham currently have 11 players aged 30 or older in their squad, with three of those being midfielders in the form of Elliot Lee, Matty James and George Evans - Cairney arriving at the Racecourse Ground would only increase the average age of the engine room.