Wrexham AFC tipped to beat Birmingham City to Swansea City transfer agreement | OneFootball

The two newly-promoted sides are competing against each other once more in the transfer market

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

After both earning promotion from League One into the Championship, Wrexham and Birmingham City are set to generate further attention when it comes to their upcoming transfer activity.

The two sides both earned automatic promotion out of the third-tier despite being four divisions apart back in 2023 as the Red Dragons became the first club in English football history to achieve three successive promotions, whilst Blues set a 19-point gap between themselves and the North Wales outfit as part of their EFL and world-record points haul of 111 after accumulating another English football high 34 wins in 46 games.

It has already been reported that the newly-promoted duo are expected to invest heavily in the upcoming transfer window to further upgrade their respective squads, as well as potentially rivalling the likes of Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton for targets.

Both clubs smashed their respective transfer records in the last 12 months, as Jay Stansfield signed from Fulham in Birmingham and League One's most-expensive incoming, whilst Phil Parkinson swooped to add Reading ace Sam Smith in a record deal for Wrexham in the winter window.

And, it has now emerged that the two clubs are preparing substantial contract offers to lure Swansea City centre-back Harry Darling to one of their well-documented projects.

With this in mind, Football League World asked our resident Wrexham fan pundit, Liam Grice, whether his club has the ability to entice the 25-year-old to the Stok Cae Ras over a move to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Wrexham AFC tipped to beat Birmingham City in race for Harry Darling

Both sides have been able to attract a number of high-profile and strong additions to their ranks in recent times, which led to them having the two meanest defences in League One this season.

Christoph Klarer and Max Cleworth have been the standouts at the heart of defence respectively. But, when it comes to adding Darling's presence into the equation, Grice believes he could be swayed by a potential move across Wales.

"I do think Wrexham definitely have the financial power to compete, if not, beat Birmingham to the signing of Darling," he told FLW.

"I think he's a very good player and definitely a player we should be looking to sign. If Birmingham are going for him then that's a pretty good sign in itself.

"I think the project at Wrexham has enticed a lot of people to come here. It's not just the money, although that's definitely a factor in people's moves, it's the whole idea of what we're trying to do," Grice added.

"Ryan Longman this season comes to mind. He said he joined, loved being part of the project and really gets the idea of where Wrexham want to go and he's delighted to be a part of it. So, I can see that being a big lure for some people.

"Birmingham obviously have their own trajectory, their own plan and their own buzz around them. But, I think the Wrexham one does give us an edge in some negotiations," he explained. "I do think Wrexham can definitely compete with the likes of Birmingham for signings.

"I think Harry Darling would be a brilliant addition to the squad. I definitely think we could convince him to join us," our fan pundit concluded.

Harry Darling would be a strong first signing for Wrexham after promotion

With the chance of striking a deal on a free transfer, there aren't many options that would represent as much of a bargain for Wrexham upon their return to the second-tier for the first time in 43 years as Darling.

The 25-year-old is about to begin the prime years of his career and previously excelled at MK Dons before moving to South Wales, where he has shown all the attributes needed to become a high-end performer at the level.

Previous links to play-off finalists, Sheffield United, and the Swans' desire to tie him down to fresh terms only echo such sentiments regarding the man who is extremely composed on the ball, wins plenty of individual battles and offers a strong threat from attacking set-pieces, having scored 12 goals in 112 appearances for his current employers.

One aspect which could fall into Wrexham's favour even more is that Birmingham will be welcoming Phil Neumann to B9 in July after his pre-contract agreement from Hannover 96, whilst Chris Davies' side are also exploring the possibility of striking a permanent deal for Ben Davies, who impressed on loan from Rangers.