Exclusive: Wrexham AFC pushing to sign Reading FC star before February 3rd deadline.
League One promotion candidates. According to Football League World, Wrexham are preparing to make a late move for Reading forward Sam Smith.
Phil Parkinson’s side’s automatic promotion ambitions have dwindled in recent weeks, with three league defeats in January.
Wrexham have completed only one addition this month, winger Ryan Longman from Hull City. However, the Welsh club hopes to recruit a striker before the market closes next Monday.
Wrexham’s transfer interest in Reading’s Sam Smith
Sources close to FLW have revealed a significant change in the third-tier promotion campaign. According to FLW, Wrexham are looking to sign Smith to improve their goal-scoring and boost their chances of promotion to the Championship.
Smith is under contract with play-off-chasing Reading until 2026. However, the club’s well-documented financial difficulties under Dai Yongge’s turbulent ownership means they are constantly at risk of losing key assets, one of which is undoubtedly Smith.
The 26-year-old, who spent five years with Reading between 2016 and 2021 without making an impression, returned to Berkshire in the summer of 2023 from Cambridge United and has been a huge success over the previous two seasons.
| Sam Smith’s career stats via FotMob, as of January 29 | ||||
| Years | Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2016-2021 | Reading | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | Bishop’s Stortford (loan) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018-2019 | Oxford United (loan) | 24 | 3 | 1 |
| 2019 | Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-2020 | Cambridge United (loan) | 34 | 8 | 2 |
| 2020-2021 | Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Cheltenham Town (loan) | 21 | 4 | 1 |
| 2021-2023 | Cambridge United | 109 | 35 | 3 |
| 2023- | Reading | 63 | 27 | 3 |
Smith has 11 goals in League One this season, bringing his total to double figures in four consecutive seasons.
Wrexham badly needs a striker.
To catch up to second-placed Wycombe Wanderers, who are now six points adrift after Tuesday’s 3-2 home defeat against Stevenage, Wrexham will need to sign a marquee striker during the remaining January window.
Unlike Wycombe and league leaders Birmingham City, which can draw on three of the top third-tier scorers in Richard Kone, Jay Stansfield, and Alfie May, Wrexham do not have a star to lead the charge.
Parkinson has plenty of alternatives, but none of Steven Fletcher, Jack Marriott, Ollie Palmer, Paul Mullin, or summer acquisition Mo Faal have scored more than six goals – the latter still hasn’t scored in League One.
Adding firepower might be a game-changer for Wrexham, resulting in further pursuit of Smith in the coming days.
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