Meet the opposition | Wrexham

As Swansea City prepare to take on Wrexham on Friday night, we take a closer look at the north Wales outfit. 

What's their story?

Formed in 1864, Wrexham are the oldest football club in Wales, founded by members of Wrexham Cricket Club who were seeking a winter sport. They won the inaugural Welsh Cup in 1878 with victory over Druids, and went on to lift the trophy a record 23 times before changes to the competition in 1995 meant clubs playing in the English system were no longer eligible.

Aside from two seasons in the Welsh League, Wrexham have spent the vast majority of their history competing in the English football pyramid. They were founding members of the Third Division North in 1921 and remained part of the Football League continuously until relegation to the National League in 2008.

The club returned to the EFL in 2023 after a 15-year absence, following their takeover by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Since then, Wrexham have enjoyed a remarkable rise, securing back-to-back-to-back promotions to return to the second tier for the first time since 1982.

How's their form?

Mixed. The Reds are winless in four since their 2–0 home victory over Bristol City at the end of November and come into this fixture on the back of a 2–2 draw with Watford, where Oliver Rathbone struck a 92nd-minute equaliser to salvage a point. 

They currently sit 14th in the table, five points above the Swans.

Wrexham have also not won away from home since a 3–2 victory at Norwich’s Carrow Road in September, but have lost just one of their last 11 league games.

Who's their gaffer?

Phil Parkinson has been the man at the helm of Wrexham during the Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney era, guiding the club from the National League to the Championship over the past three seasons.

A former central midfielder, Parkinson enjoyed a long playing career, making over 500 appearances for Bury and Reading, captaining the latter to promotion to the First Division, now known as the Championship.

He moved into management with Colchester United in 2003 and has since overseen more than 1,000 professional matches across spells with Hull City, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland and Wrexham.

Away from his success in north Wales, his most notable managerial spell came with Bradford City, where he led the Bantams to the League Cup final in 2013, beating Arsenal and Aston Villa along the way before losing 5-0 to Michael Laudrup’s Swansea City. That same season, he also guided Bradford to promotion to League One.

Since arriving at the Racecourse, Parkinson has managed 233 matches across four seasons, winning 137 of them.

Who's their captain?

Winger James McClean was named captain of the Reds ahead of their League One campaign at the start of last season, and is now just six appearances away from reaching a century of league games for the Welsh side.

Born in Northern Ireland, McClean began his professional career with Derry City, making his first-team debut in July 2008 during a financially-turbulent period for the club. Derry were expelled from the League of Ireland and placed in the First Division, but McClean played a key role in helping them secure promotion back to the top-flight in 2010. His performances soon attracted interest from across the Irish Sea, leading to a move to Sunderland in 2011.

McClean has since spent his career in the English football system, featuring for Wigan Athletic, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City, joining the latter for a reported £5million fee following their relegation to the Championship. He went on to make over 100 appearances for the Potters before returning to Wigan for a second spell, where he helped the club achieve promotion to the Championship as League One champions in the 2021-22 season.

He made the move to Wrexham a year later, adding further experience and leadership to the Reds’ squad.

Who are the key men?

Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo has been a vital figure in Wrexham’s last two promotion campaigns, first joining the club on loan in 2023 following the retirement of Ben Foster. 

An Arsenal academy graduate, he made his debut for the club’s under-23s at just 17, but never featured competitively for the senior side.

During his time with the Gunners, Okonkwo enjoyed loan spells at Crewe Alexandra - where he kept nine clean sheets in 23 league games during the first half of the 2022-23 season - and Austrian side Sturm Graz, making 15 appearances and keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 Austrian Cup final win over Rapid Vienna.

He joined Wrexham at the start of the 2023-24 season and quickly became a fan favourite, despite a jaw injury forcing a brief return to Arsenal for surgery. Okonkwo rejoined in January 2024 and went on to make 36 league appearances as the Reds secured promotion to League One.

The former England youth international later returned to Wrexham permanently on a free transfer and has since been a mainstay in goal, playing a key role in their promotion to the Championship last season.

Striker Josh Windass was a statement signing for Wrexham as they looked to strengthen ahead of their Championship campaign. The forward has made a strong start to life in north Wales, scoring six goals in 18 league appearances so far to sit as the club’s second-highest scorer.

The son of former striker Dean Windass - who made over 600 league appearances across spells in England and Scotland - Windass began his career at Huddersfield Town but did not feature for the Terriers’ first team. He moved on to Accrington Stanley following a short stint with Harrogate Railway Athletic and went on to score 23 goals across three seasons for The Reds.

That form earned him a move to Scottish giants Rangers in 2016, following their climb back through the divisions. Windass finished as the club’s joint top scorer with 18 goals in his second season at Ibrox before joining Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2018.

He spent two years with the Latics, including a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday, where he later signed permanently in 2020. During his time with the Owls, Windass made 154 league appearances and scored 43 goals before completing his move to Wrexham.

Wales international Kieffer Moore joined Wrexham in the summer after a year with Sheffield United, and is currently the club's top goal scorer with eight Championship goals to his name.

Moore started his career in non-league before joining Yeovil in 2013. The striker spent two years with the Glovers before moving to Norway, where he had a spell with Viking FK.

Moore had something of a nomadic existence as he went on to have stints with Forest Green Rovers, Torquay United, Ipswich, Rotherham United, Barnsley and Wigan Athletic before moving to Cardiff City for £2 million in August 2020. 

Twenty-five goals in 64 league appearances for Cardiff attracted the interest of Bournemouth, for whom he netted nine goals in 39 league appearances. 

There was then a loan spell at Ipswich Town as they claimed promotion to the Premier League before signing a three-year contract to join the Blades last summer, where he made 27 appearances and scored five goals as they suffered play-off final heartache against Sunderland.

He has also scored 15 times in 52 appearances for Wales, most recently in the 1-0 win over Kazakhstan in September.