Wrexham AFC looking to beat Millwall to Sunderland transfer deal | OneFootball

Ambitious Wrexham could be looking to gazump Millwall as they seek to strengthen for their second season back in the Championship.

Millwall and Wrexham both came close to achieving their ambitions in the Championship last season, and they might be up against each other as they seek to strengthen their squads this summer.

Having finished third and seventh in the Championship last season, 2025-26 was a case of 'so near yet so far' for both Millwall and Wrexham.

The Lions finished the season in third place in the table, just a point short of Ipswich Town for automatic promotion to the Premier League, but then lost in the play-off semi-finals to Hull City, while Wrexham surged into the chase for a play-off place before finishing two points short, in seventh place.

Both of these clubs, therefore, have strengthening to do this summer as they seek to improve upon last season and make that final step towards the Premier League, and they could be on course for a fight over a player who won promotion to the top flight at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Millwall and Wrexham set for tussle over highly-rated Sunderland goalkeeper

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Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson spent the second half of 2025-26 on loan at Millwall from Sunderland, but it's being reported that their attempts to make his loan move from The Stadium of Light could yet be disrupted by interest from Wrexham.

Journalist Alan Nixon has reported on his Patreon that Wrexham also have an interest in Patterson, who impressed as the Lions finished in third place in the Championship last season.

He confirms that both clubs are interested in a loan for Patterson, who Nixon reports is valued in the £8 million to £10 million range if he were to depart on a permanent basis.

Nixon also confirms that such a move for Patterson from Wrexham could have another significant knock-on effect elsewhere.

Should the Red Dragons be successful in their attempt to lure Patterson to the Racecourse Ground, they could be open to allowing their goalkeeper from last season, Arthur Okonkwo, to move on in order to secure first-team football.

Anthony Patterson was a victim of circumstance at the Stadium of Light following 2024-25 promotion

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Having helped get Sunderland back to the Premier League at the end of the 2024-25 season, goalkeeper Anthony Patterson became a victim of circumstance at The Stadium of Light as the club plotted a major rebuild to secure their place in the top-flight.

The club signed Robin Roefs from the Dutch club NEC Nijmegen, and Roefs was a sensation for the Black Cats in the Premier League throughout the 2025-26 season, earning himself a place in the Netherlands squad for this summer's World Cup finals.

But this froze Patterson out of the Sunderland first team, and at the end of the January transfer window he went on loan for the remainder of the season to Millwall, where he made a total of 16 appearances, keeping an impressive seven clean sheets as Millwall pushed for promotion to the Premier League themselves.

With Wrexham having come close to achieving a play-off place themselves at the end of 2025-26, there are also ambitions for improvement next season there, and Patterson may end up having to decide whether his fortunes will be best served at Wrexham or at Millwall.

And with both of these clubs having been very firmly on the up last season, it could be a difficult decision for a goalkeeper who, at 26 years of age, is reaching the peak years of his career.