Wrexham released six players who were instrumental in the team’s promotion, and extended contracts to several high-profile players. The team, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, announced their released and retained list on Friday morning, with some intriguing information for supporters. James McClean, a 35-year-old Republic of Ireland international who was instrumental in the team’s second consecutive promotion since Hollywood took over, will remain with the Red Dragons through the summer of 2019.
In an effort to prepare for life in League One, co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have extended contracts to goalkeeper Mark Howard and defender Aaron James. Steven Fletcher, who joined the team at the beginning of the League Two season, has also been offered a new contract. The Scotland international scored eight goals in 32 appearances for the club, including a game-winning volley against Notts County and a hat-trick that inspired a 4-1 comeback win against Barrow in January.
Manager Phil Parkinson, who has twice earned promotion in League One, has acknowledged that the transition from League Two to League One may require some changes to the Wrexham squad. Double-promotion heroes Ben Tozer, who is also the club captain, Luke Young (the squad’s longest-serving player), Aaron Hayden, Rob Lainton, Callum McFadzean, and Jordan Tunnicliffe have all been released following the end of their respective contracts, reports the Mirror. Teenagers Owen Cushion and Dan Davies have also been let go.
“Obviously improve the squad,” Parkinson said after Wrexham’s 2-0 win over League Two champions Stockport County. “As you go up the divisions, everything improves: athleticism, quality, preparation.”
“Everything we need to improve which we will do, there’s a lot of hard work to be done over the summer but we’ll sit down and as we’ve done before and take our time and make the right decisions to give us a chance to be competitive next season.”
Young, who captained the team to back-to-back promotions for the first time in the club’s history, made his 259th and final appearance for the club in the victory over Stockport. The sight proved to be an emotional one for the the back-to-back Player of the Season, who managed 22 goals for the club across his tenure.
