Wrexham's Attacking Answer May Be Hiding in Plain Sight

With just one week remaining in the summer transfer window, Wrexham are desperately searching for more attacking punch. The Red Dragons squandered a host of chances against Cardiff City, then struggled to create meaningful opportunities as they were held to yet another draw by Watford.

Manager Phil Parkinson has maintained that the squad already possesses sufficient attacking quality; it simply needs to be unlocked. Chief executive Michael Williamson has similarly suggested the real issue lies in creativity and maximizing the attacking talent already available to them.

The encouraging news is that Wrexham are expected to receive a significant boost this week with the return of an attacking key player who has netted seven goals across his last eight appearances.

The concerning part? He hasn't featured since the beginning of May.

Why Josh Windass Is So Important For Wrexham

Josh Windass enjoyed a remarkable debut season in North Wales, culminating in him being awarded the club's Player of the Year honor and finishing as top scorer across all competitions. The former Sheffield Wednesday forward scored Wrexham's first Championship goal in 43 years and netted seven of their 13 goals during the closing weeks of the campaign as they narrowly fell short of the playoffs.

The 32-year-old's final meaningful contribution came when he fired an effort over the bar in the dying moments of Wrexham's 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough on the last day of the season. Had that effort found the net, Wrexham would have leapfrogged Hull City to finish sixth in the Championship standings. Instead, it was the Tigers who went on to clinch promotion to the Premier League and beat Manchester United at the weekend.

Those are the razor-thin margins that come to define games, seasons and careers. They are the very same margins that haven't quite gone Wrexham's way during the opening three fixtures of the new EFL campaign—and the same margins Windass had a knack for swinging in their favor during his extraordinary run of form.

Parkinson lifted morale following the recent stalemate with Watford when he confirmed Windass will "definitely" return from injury on Friday night and be available for the squad to face Birmingham City. Windass was notably left out for the 2-0 loss to Birmingham back in April, when a lack of creativity saw the Red Dragons manage just four shots throughout the entire match, none of which troubled the goalkeeper.

Josh Windass 2025–26 Championship Stats

The Fitness Risk

Were he fully fit, there would be no question about Windass starting on Friday night. The challenge for Wrexham is that he hasn't featured since early May and sat out their entire preseason schedule.

"He's had a block [of training] in the middle [of preseason] where he was back involved, and then his calf wasn't quite where we wanted it to be. But he's had blocks of training, so it's not like we are starting completely from a low base with him," Parkinson tells Sports Illustrated last week.

"I won't be risking him; there's no need to. Josh, with the goals he got last year, is an important player for the club and he will be ready soon. We'll make sure that we expose him to the right amount of minutes at the right time. He's got a very big season ahead of him, I am sure of that."

Windass finished fourth in the Championship for goals last season and was equally fourth for goal involvements per 90 minutes. Perhaps most strikingly, he placed third for total goal involvements across the entire campaign, behind only two strikers: Swansea City's Zan Vipotnik and Hull City's Oli McBurnie.

This season, the Red Dragons already rank fourth in the Championship for big chances squandered and sit 12th for shots on target. Windass is the match-winner who could change that picture, but Wrexham cannot afford to rush his comeback or overburden him after he missed so much of the summer through injury.

Only five teams scored more goals than Wrexham last season, while only five conceded more. Early indications suggest they have managed to shore up their vulnerable defense, with only five teams conceding fewer goals across their opening two matches. However, only three teams have found the net less often.

That makes it all the more critical for Wrexham to discover a way to add more goals to their game and capitalize on the chances they manage to create.

Even with a week still to go in the transfer window, it would be extremely difficult to find anyone capable of replicating what Windass contributes to this Wrexham side.