Wrexham have been urged to push the boat out to sign Manchester United defender Jonny Evans. The Welsh side, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, earned promotion to the Championship last weekend.
The actors have doubled down on their ambition of taking Wrexham all the way to the Premier League in the wake of their 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic. Manager Phil Parkinson is expected to be busy in the summer transfer window as he looks to make additions to help his squad compete at the next level.
Evans is one of several high-profile names to be linked with joining the Red Dragons, along with Jamie Vardy and Kevin De Bruyne. The 37-year-old made a surprise return to Old Trafford in 2023, having left the club in 2014, and was initially only signed for pre-season.
But he has gone on to make 42 appearances in all competitions over the last two campaigns. With his contract due to expire in June and no sign of an extension on the table, former Wrexham and United winger Mickey Thomas thinks he would make a great addition to Parkinson’s side, saying, “He would be fantastic.”
“I saw a rumour about Jonny Evans and he’s been magnificent when he’s played for Manchester United in the last couple of seasons,” said Thomas. “He would be fantastic, there’s no question about that.
“He’s very experienced and you’re going to need that as well. When you look who the manager has brought in, he’s brought in Steven Fletcher and experience like that with Jay Rodriguez. He will be on the lookout for some type of player like Jonny Evans, which would be a good addition to the team.”
Thomas watched the second half of Saturday’s game against Charlton from Reynolds and McElhenney’s private box and was also invited onto the pitch by the owners to enjoy the post-match celebrations. He made 349 appearances over two spells at Wrexham during his career, most famously scoring a stunning free-kick in a shock FA Cup victory over Arsenal.
The ex-Wales international believes a number of new signings will need to be made to make the club competitive in the Championship next season. However, Thomas insists Wrexham have nothing to be afraid of after registering their third successive promotion, despite the presence of several former Premier League sides.
He said: “I would say you’re looking at four or five players who will come through the door. Every football club, every season adds quality. Without doubt, that’s going to happen.
“You have to have a belief that they can do really well. At this moment in time, we’re like a runaway train, no-one can stop us. This is a big test, though, and you have to see what’s ahead of you.
“There’s some big hitters in there with Leicester coming down, along with Southampton and Ipswich and possibly Sunderland in there. But I think they’ll be well prepared and Phil Parkinson will already have his players in mind that he wants to bring into the club.”
Parkinson has stressed he will be implementing a strict “no egos” policy when making new signings. Speaking immediately after promotion was sealed, he said he was more interested in making sure he had the right “culture” at the Racecourse Ground.
He said: “I think that a lot of tough decisions will be made this summer, in terms of who we bring in and how we add to this fantastic squad of lads we’ve got, but let’s see if we can build a squad to compete at that level.
“What we’ve always tried to do is make sure the culture in the club is right and I think that’s key – no superstars, no egos in the dressing room and we’ve got to try and get that balance right again. You always need extra quality when you go up a level to make sure the right people come into the building.”
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