'Of course there are' - Wrexham boss makes transfer pledge as move for Portsmouth favourite anticipated
Pompey are anticipating approached for Fratton favourite Terry Devlin during the summer, with Wrexham known admirers of the Northern Ireland international
Ambitious Pompey rivals Wrexham are once again planning an assault on the transfer market this summer as they look to build on an impressive maiden season in the Championship.
And that spells trouble for the Blues, who rejected a £2m offer from the Racecourse Ground side for Terry Devlin in January.
Pompey are bracing themselves for further approaches from The Red Dragons and other clubs during the close season after the 22-year-old right-back picked up an eyewatering 17 player-of-the-season awards earlier this month.
The Blues are under no pressure to part company with the Northern Ireland international, who is contracted to Fratton Park until 2028, or fellow prized-asset Adrian Segecic.
But with Wrexham spending big money on new recruits following their promotion to the Championship last summer, Pompey won’t stand in the player’s way if they stand to make a huge profit on the £70,000 they shelved out for the former Glentoran midfielder in 2023.
There’s no suggestion that the Welsh oufit will splash the cash in the same vein this year, after roughly £25-£30m was spent on new recuits over the course of the 2025-26 season.
Former Ipswich forward Nathan Broadhead was the club’s biggest transfer outlay last summer, when he moved for a fee that could potentially rise to £10m.
Yet, with Parkinson keen to improve on last season’s seventh-place finish that saw Wrexham miss out on the play-off by two points, more new signings are on the way, with the former Bradford manager admitting the players in question have alrady been extensively watched over recent months.
‘We have got to improve the squad’
Speaking to leaderlive.co,uk, Parkinson said: ‘The positive side of it is that we built a competitive Championship squad and we go into the summer with that.
‘We are working on the template for how we want the squad to look for next season and work towards building the squad to be competitive again.
‘We have got to improve the squad as well and we will be looking to do that.
‘Of course there are going to be some incoming players, how many we will have to wait and see.
‘As you can imagine, whatever division we were going to be in, we have watched players over the last few months.
‘We have got a clear pathway of where we need to be but, as always, especially with the World Cup, it is going to take time.
‘We know the areas we would like to strengthen but at the moment, we just want to keep that between ourselves and work our way like we have always done, and try and get a team and squad in place which will be competitive again next season.’
Devlin: ‘If there’s interest, that is for the club to deal with’
Devlin spoke to The News about his future at the end of last season
He said: ‘Speculation comes with football, doesn't it. For anyone who does decent and has a decent season, there is always speculation.
‘But, for me, (the summer) it’s about switching off, resting and recovering, getting ready for next season.
‘I still want to improve, I have to look at the season as a whole and look at things I haven’t done so well and things I can improve on.
‘If there is interest, that’s for the club to deal with. I will be spending time with my family for a bit, resting and having a good summer with them.
‘I remember being interviewed straight after the (January) ransfer window had closed and getting across my full focus remains on Pompey - and that has never changed.
‘It’s a great place and I love it here, it’s a great club. I am contracted here and this is where I will be in pre-season.
‘Obviously we have to push up the league next season, we need to get this club where it belongs, and that's fighting at the top of the Championship.’
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