<p>Wrexham achieved a first in club history—back-to-back promotions—and concluded the League Two season with five victories in a row, securing second place. The Reds have thus earned a postseason celebration as they revel in a spot in League One.</p>



<p>Yet, on Friday, the club <a href="https://www.wrexhamafc.co.uk/news/2024/may/tst-2024--first-wrexham-red-dragons-players-revealed-for-mens-team/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released the roster of players they had kept</a>. Therefore, they have also officially announced that eight players would be released this summer when their contracts expire.</p>



<p>Along with Rob Lainton, who has been with the club since 2018, captains Luke Young and Ben Tozer will also be leaving. Also headed for the door are youngsters Owen Cushion and Dan Davies. Defenders Aaron Hayden, Jordan Tunnicliffe and Callum McFadzean will eventually join them.</p>



<p>With his summer 2018 transfer, Young has been with the team longer than any other player. The midfielder was instrumental in the Red Dragons’ historic back-to-back promotions. Center-back Tozer, who joined the club in August of 2021, is also out of contract. His presence was equally important to the team’s success.</p>



<p>James McClean, meanwhile, will be participating in the 2024–25 season with an automatically extended contract. Also, players like Aaron James (defender), Steven Fletcher (forward), and Mark Howard (goalkeeper) have received extension offers.</p>



<h2>Wrexham forced to massively cut down squad size</h2>



<p>For the third level in England, the Welsh team will be limited to 22 players once again. League One clubs are also capped at 22 players. Those figures, however, do not account for goalkeepers or players whose age was less than 21 when the year began.</p>



<p>As a result, coach Phil Parkinson had to make some tough choices about who to include in his future plans. “People are not completely aware of that rule”, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/27780147/wrexham-ryan-reynolds-phil-parkinson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said the Reds’ boss</a> earlier.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="670" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240509_WST_505765_Phil-Parkinson-Wrexham-1200x670_8066b647.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=670" alt="" class="wp-image-505783" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/Phil-Parkinson-Wrexham-1200x670.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/Phil-Parkinson-Wrexham-300x168.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/Phil-Parkinson-Wrexham-768x429.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/Phil-Parkinson-Wrexham.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



<p>“We have got to work towards the 22-man squad and inevitably, the only way we can bring players in is by letting people go. The aim has always been to improve what we have got in each transfer window but also maintaining our key players. That’s what we will be aiming to do this time.</p>



<p>“It is going to be an interesting summer; we have got ideas how we would like to see the squad shape up. We will take our time and hopefully get a squad which can be competitive.”</p>



<h2>Will Wrexham use summer budget for reinforcements?</h2>



<p>At this point, the club will focus on another promotion and moving just a step away from the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a>. But despite the club’s ambitions of playing in the top division one day, Parkinson asserted that they <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cx7dxp9x3wyo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">would not go over budget</a> this season.</p>



<p>“For all the players we’ve signed, there’s a lot of stories of ones we haven’t signed and got close to. We have a value on players we go for and if it goes above that, we just move away from it.</p>



<p>“I think that’s important because there isn’t endless pot of money. We are working towards a budget; we try and sign the players who offer us value going forward and I feel we’ve done that really well over the last few years.</p>



<p>“We’ve built a squad of players a lot who can carry on the journey with us. We’re not going to pay over the odds for players. We have our own valuation system and we’ll work towards that.”</p>



<p><em>PHOTOS: IMAGO</em></p>

EPL dream fades? Wrexham boss reveals club's summer budget

Despite ambitions of playing in the Premier League, Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson asserted that they would not go over budget this summer.


<p>Veteran goalkeeper Ben Foster will return with Wrexham next season on a one-year deal. The 40-year-old keeper joined the Welsh club as a free agent in March after previously retiring from the sport. Nevertheless, Foster has now signed on to continue on with the club.</p>



<h5>Goalkeeper impressed with team from top to bottom</h5>



<p>“At the end of last season it was obvious that I enjoyed being at the club. I loved being part of the team and everything that Wrexham stands for,” Foster <a href="https://www.wrexhamafc.co.uk/news/2023/june/signed--ben-foster-signs-new-one-year-contract-with-wrexham-afc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> in his explanation for signing a new deal with Wrexham.</p>



<p>“The fans took to me so warmly. Phil Parkinson is brilliant, Steve Parkin is top-class, I love Aidan Davison to bits, and the Co-Chairmen are out of this world. I’d decided before the end of last season I wanted to do it because it feels like home. I’ve never joined a football club and felt at ease so quickly.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A message from Ben to you 😆<br><br>🔴⚪️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WxmAFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WxmAFC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneMoreYear?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneMoreYear</a> <a href="https://t.co/jult0KxPwI">pic.twitter.com/jult0KxPwI</a></p>— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wrexham_AFC/status/1667099297282662401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Foster played the final eight National League matches with the club during the 2022/23 campaign. He was initially brought in after an injury to the team’s No. 1 keeper Rob Lainton. The Red Dragons <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/wrexham-secure-football-league-promotion-via-mullin-brace-20230422-WST-429737.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">won the fifth-division title</a> with the help of the goalkeeper and have been promoted to League Two.</p>



<h2>Coach calls Ben Foster deal ‘key signing’ for Wrexham</h2>



<p>Wrexham is thrilled that the veteran keeper has re-signed with the team. Club manager Phil Parkinson even labeled the deal as a major signing moving forward. “We’re delighted that Ben has signed for the coming season,” <a href="https://www.wrexhamafc.co.uk/news/2023/june/signed--ben-foster-signs-new-one-year-contract-with-wrexham-afc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proclaimed</a> Parkinson.</p>



<p>“It’s a key signing for us because we all saw the impact, he had not just on the pitch but also around the training ground, and we are all looking forward to working with him again next season.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SCENES 😳<a href="https://twitter.com/Wrexham_AFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Wrexham_AFC</a>&apos;s Ben Foster comes up BIG to save <a href="https://twitter.com/Official_NCFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Official_NCFC</a>&apos;s last-minute penalty 🦸‍♂️ <a href="https://t.co/n4ZBSMCrF5">pic.twitter.com/n4ZBSMCrF5</a></p>— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1645457220434313216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Foster will now be a part of the team’s <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/chelsea-to-play-wrexham-in-2023-summer-friendly-20230420-WST-429281.html">United States tour this summer</a>. Wrexham is set to play three <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/schedule-of-soccer-friendlies-in-us-this-summer/">friendlies this summer across the nation</a>. These fixtures include matchups against <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premier League</a> sides <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/chelsea-tv-schedule/">Chelsea</a> and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/manchester-united-tv-schedule/">Manchester United</a>, as well as facing an LA Galaxy XI sandwiched between the two games.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images</em></p>


Ben Foster has agreed to a one-year deal to remain with Wrexham. The goalkeeper previously came out of retirement to join the club in March.

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EPL dream fades? Wrexham boss reveals club's summer budget

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Wrexham brings back goalkeeper Ben Foster on new 1-year deal