Phil Parkinson admits Wrexham are 'working on' signing in-demand star amid Premier League transfer battle

Wrexham players have been celebrating away in Las Vegas but Phil Parkinson and his staff will have been working hard on potential summer signings.

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have again funded a real promotion party over in Vegas.

It looks like the Wrexham squad have enjoyed their time in the States with Andy Cannon branding the trip ‘special’.

The attention will soon turn to pre-season fixtures and preparations for League One; Wrexham players will have to enjoy the partying for now as a gruelling pre-season training schedule no doubt awaits them.

Boss Phil Parkinson hasn’t been in Vegas and will have had one eye on potential signings for the summer transfer window.

Rumours are thin on the round right now but one player Wrexham fans would love to see sign this summer is Arthur Okonkwo.

Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images

Phil Parkinson on Arthur Okonkwo

Goalkeeper Okonkwo spent this past season on loan at Wrexham as the Arsenal talent came in following Ben Foster’s retirement.

Okonkwo ended up turning in an outstanding campaign and landed a deserved spot in the League Two Team of the Season.

The old adage is to ‘never fall in love with loan players’ but Okonkwo made that difficult for Wrexham supporters.

Fans would love to see Okonkwo return to the STōK Cae Ras this summer, especially as his Arsenal contract expires next month.

Boss Parkinson has now spoken to BBC Sport Wales about Okonkwo and he has made his stance pretty clear.

Parkinson admitted that Wrexham are ‘working on’ trying to sign Okonkwo permanently, but accepts that a deal ‘could take time’.

Parkinson promised that Wrexham will ‘give it everything that we’ve got’ in an attempt to keep hold of Okonkwo, giving some hope of a deal being pulled off.

“Obviously we’re keen to keep Arthur and we’re working on that,” said Parkinson. “It could take time but there’s one thing for sure, we’ll give it everything that we’ve got to keep Arthur at the club,” he added.

Wrexham face battle for Okonkwo

Okonkwo’s status as a free agent this summer is perfect for Wrexham but it also means other clubs are keen.

The Daily Mail report that Premier League and Championship clubs want to sign Okonkwo and there is even interest in Europe.

That leaves Wrexham facing major competition for Okonkwo, which is no great surprise after a superb season.

The hope is that Okonkwo enjoyed his time at Wrexham so much that he will want to commit his future to the club.

Humphrey Ker has already outlined that Wrexham are ‘desperate’ to sign Okonkwo and Parkinson’s comments back that up.

Okonkwo has been in Vegas with the Wrexham squad and we can imagine that he has received more than a few whispers in the ear, urging him to sign for Wrexham on a permanent basis this summer.

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