It’s nearly January 1st, the transfer window will be officially open, you know what means? Yes, speculation about who Wrexham is going to sign will be rife! Multiple reports state Wrexham are looking to sign another striker. Let's take a look at a few potential options using a data driven approach.
Since their return to League One, Wrexham have struggled to create high-value chances in front of goal. In terms of xG, Wrexham sit 11th in the league. Now, I know this doesn’t tell the whole story. When you have a chance you have to be clinical, and so far, that’s exactly what
If reports are to be believed then Wrexham are in the market for another striker and are assessing their options. Therefore, we’re going to take a look at some possibilities from League One, the Championship and Scottish Premiership. We’ll also take a close look at Wrexham loanee
𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀. Signing players who’re over-performing normally guarantees you’re going to overpay and be left frustrated when that player returns to normal levels. Case in point, Darwin Nunez. Liverpool shelled out an
𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. We’ll start off by looking at players from the start of last season, looking at their availability, and performance. We’ll start our search by filtering our any striker that hasn’t played over 3000 minutes across last season and this. This leaves
We’re now going to take some key metrics and use z-scores to gain further insight into how these players have performed over the past 18 months. We’ll be taking the whole of 23-24 league season, in addition to the 24-25 season so far. This should give us a good sample of data to
We can then take each category score, to give us a total score across each season. We’ll then combine each score to give us a total score, taking into account the league difficulty and different needs, along with placing greater importance on current season statistics. Here’s
𝟮. 𝗢𝗳𝗳-𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝟯. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸-𝘂𝗽 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆
𝟰. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
𝟱. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝟲. 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆
Our next step is to separate each season’s worth of data and weight that accordingly. We have given this season’s data so far a score of 70% and last season 30% to ensure this season’s data is the main focus. This approach balances current relevance with long-term reliability.
Now we have all the base factors locked in, we can enter our 3000+ minutes of data to determine potential striking options to sign in the upcoming January window. Out of the 13 potential signings and a loan recall, we can narrow this down to a top three. To further ensure we’re
𝟭. 𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻 First up is Sam Smith from Reading. I first considered him last summer while evaluating long-term options, but his new contract at Reading made Mo Faal a more realistic target. Fast forward six months, and Smith
𝟮. 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗶𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝗸𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗻 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹-𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 The second name on this list is perhaps the most unexpected: Emil Riis Jakobsen. A former Danish U21 international, Riis burst onto the scene with a prolific 21-goal season for Preston in 21/22.
𝟯. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻 Third on the list is Colby Bishop, Portsmouth’s goal machine and the man who fired them to promotion last season with 21 goals. Bishop is a guarantee for goals at this level, making him a potential game-changer
𝟰. 𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝗯𝘆 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻-𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗟𝗼𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗲 Now to a familiar face—Wrexham loanee Sam Dalby, currently thriving at Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership. Dalby has been in scintillating form, earning Player of the Month honours and showcasing his goal-scoring
𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱: 𝗝𝗼𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘁 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 Finally, let’s consider a wildcard option—Joe Gelhardt. A Leeds academy product, Gelhardt’s career has stagnated under Daniel Farke, but a move to Wrexham could reignite his
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 The first step for Wrexham should be evaluating the situation with Sam Dalby. By his own admission, Dalby has expressed a desire to see out his loan at Dundee United, and with good reason—he’s thriving. As the top scorer in the Scottish Premiership, Dalby
𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 - 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱: Bishop is a consistent goal-scorer, with 21 goals in League One last season and a solid return in the Championship despite limited minutes. His ability to adapt to a higher level demonstrates
