Wrexham are preparing for life in the Championship.Wrexham are preparing for life in the Championship.
Wrexham are preparing for life in the Championship. | Getty Images
Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney has struggled for minutes in recent seasons under Marco Silva.
Wrexham are preparing for life as a Championship club having achieved promotion from League One under Phil Parkinson this season, making it back-to-back rises through the EFL under the ownership of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The Welsh outfit finished second in League Two in 2024 and went on to place second in League One this season, winning automatic promotion. Wrexham set a club transfer record fee to sign Sam Smith from Reading for £2 million in January but are now expected to smash that again.
The Telegraph claims that Wrexham are willing to pay more than that £2 million to bring Tom Cairney to the club from Premier League outfit Fulham. The midfielder has made 318 appearances in the Championship over his career, scoring 45 goals, and would be an experienced addition to the squad.
Wrexham willing to break club record fee to sign Fulham stalwart
Prior to his time at Fulham, Cairney came through the Hull City academy and broke into the first team before time at Blackburn Rovers. He played in seven back-to-back Championship seasons when at the Tigers, then Rovers and eventually Fulham before the 2018 promotion.
Wrexham have reaped success from signing experienced EFL stars in seasons gone by. The club is captained by former West Brom man James McClean with ex Southampton and Burnley talisman Jay Rodriguez and ex Wolves and Sunderland bagsman Steven Fletcher also in the squad.
Cairney has been promoted from the Championship three times with Fulham. He did so via the top two in 2020 and 2022, and via the play-offs in 2018. The Fulham club captain has been at Craven Cottage since 2015.
However, it seems as if the star’s stay on the banks of the Thames could end after a decade. Cairney is contracted at Fulham until 2026, having agreed a one-year extension on his current deal earlier this season.
The player has struggled for a starting berth under Marco Silva in recent times. Cairney has made 23 Premier League appearances this season but started just two fixtures for the side.
Marco Silva: ‘Cairney is really important for me’
Speaking about Cairney after he received a red card when playing against Tottenham Hotspur in December, Silva said: “It will be tough for us to not have a player like him.
“I know that he's not always playing as a starting XI player, but Tom is the type of player that if he plays 10 minutes he’s going to have an impact, if he starts the game he’s going to have an impact. He's really important for me. Of course, he's not a young player no more, [but] I know his qualities.
“I know some things that he needs to keep improving, but I love him as a football player, I have to say. Probably if I got him a little bit younger, he's going to be fantastic for me, because what a player he is. It's going to be a big absence for us, definitely.”
Wrexham boss Parkinson recently spoke out about the club’s desire to make the most of the free agent market. If Cairney had not signed an extension, he could have left Craven Cottage for free but the newly promoted Championship club will have to cough up a fee for the Fulham captain.
Parkinson said: “We have always got our eye on players who are free transfers and going to be available, and we’ll continue to do that. Recruitment is about getting a lot of tight decisions right and I felt we did that in January.”
In other news, Crystal Palace and Fulham sent enticing 'come get me' message by Championship manager.
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