Wrexham’s first summer signing needs to agree to a special contract clause after a £5m deal is made.
Wrexham are close to making their first summer signing, having reportedly agreed on a £5million deal with Crystal Palace for left-back Danny Imray.
The 23-year-old started his career in the youth academy at non-league Chelmsford City before joining Palace as an 18-year-old in 2021. Over the past two years, he has moved up through the EFL, first on loan at League Two side Bromley during the 2024/25 season, then stepping up to League One with Blackpool.
After impressing at Blackpool, Imray was called back by Palace in January and spent the rest of the season on loan at West Brom, helping them stay in the Championship. Both West Brom and Stoke City showed interest in signing him this summer.
But according to The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, Imray is now close to joining Wrexham as their first signing of the summer window. The fee agreed is reportedly £5million. Imray is expected to be left out of Palace’s pre-season tour in Italy to finish the move.
Along with medical checks and contract details, Imray will need to sign a special clause linked to the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary, which follows the club’s rise under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mc. The first series aired in 2022, and the fifth recently covered their first season back in the Championship.
Former Wrexham captain Ben Tozer shared with BBC Sport that players quickly get used to the cameras, even though it feels strange at first. Signing the documentary clause is part of being at the club.
Last season, as Wrexham prepared for their return to the second tier, they were busy signing players early—six by this time last year, including a £5million signing of Lewis O’Brien from Nottingham Forest and a £2.1million deal for Liberato Cacace from Empoli.
So why the different approach now? Manager Phil Parkinson explained earlier this month that signing players is “not an exact science.” He stressed that the club does careful homework on every new player.
The World Cup has also made things tricky, as many Premier League clubs kept their younger players for pre-season training while their main players were on extended breaks. This limited Wrexham’s chances to bring in loan players from those teams.
Parkinson told reporters last Saturday: “Sometimes you have to be patient. It’s not about signing someone just to say you’ve signed a player. It’s about finding the right ones because we already have a good squad going into the season.”