32-year-old Welshman Danny Ward reveals Wrexham’s No.1 goalkeeping plan for the upcoming 2026/27 Championship season.
This 2026 summer is the first one in 4 years where Wrexham didn’t celebrate a promotion. Phil Parkinson’s men had a rocky start to the recently concluded 2025/26 Championship season where they sat 14th on the table midway through the campaign.
Accept it or not, that slow start eventually held Wrexham back from a top 6 finish despite a strong turnaround in the second half of the season. That said, Wrexham now know what works in the Championship and what doesn’t.
The Red Dragons now no longer have the pressure of being called a newly promoted side and still attempt to make it through to the Championship playoffs.
The core of the team consisting of Wrexham player of the season winner Josh Windass, young player of the season Callum Doyle and academy graduate Max Cleworth are expected to be crucial starting eleven members going forward.
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A number of ageing stars like Kieffer Moore and Matty James might need replacing. But there is an even bigger talking point about Wrexham’s 2026/27 Championship season.
Who will be the starting goalkeeper for Wrexham?
Arthur Okonkwo, Wales veteran Danny Ward or reserve glovesman Callum Burton. Or anybody else?
Until March, the answer to this question was simple. Arthur Okonkwo. He had successfully taken the goalkeeping mantle from Danny Ward in the Championship, had built a good reputation for Wrexham in League One and League Two and kept the club fairly on course for securing a playoffs place.
But a run of 4 Championship defeats and 1 draw in 7 games during spring forced Parkinson to ditch Okonkwo in favour of Danny Ward. Ward then kept 2 back-to-back clean sheets before shipping five goals in the Coventry City and Middlesbrough showdowns to wrap up the season.
In short, the debate is rather even between who among Arthur Okonkwo and Danny Ward should keep Wrexham’s gloves from the start of 2026/27 season. Turns out, the latter already knows Wrexham’s plan over the No.1 decision.
Danny Ward reveals Wrexham’s keeper plan for 2026/27 season
Talking to Leader Live, Danny Ward gave a tell-tale hint about Wrexham favouring Arthur Okonkwo for the long run. In his own words, Ward commented: “Ultimately my job and Callum’s job is to push Arthur and make sure he’s at a level, and you give yourself the best possible chance then of being in the frame.”
Simply put, that’s the 32-year-old Welshman saying Arthur Okonkwo will be in goal for Wrexham as the first choice for 2026/27 and it won’t change anytime soon. The Nigerian glovesman isn’t without his flaws, as seen in the 2-1 howler away to Swansea City and ordinary displays in the Watford and Birmingham City thrashings.
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Despite that, Okonkwo makes numerous strong saves and his reflexes are second to none at Wrexham currently. Not even an ageing Ward, who is past the prime years of his keeping career. Instead, Ward should be kept as the No.2 behind Okonkwo in more of a mentor role than as a competitor.
A couple of years before Ward’s 2025 return, Wrexham had managed to sign Premier League veteran Ben Foster in goal. If only Foster had been a few years younger, he could have passed on his wealth of goalkeeping knowledge to Okonkwo which would have further contributed to his development.
With Ward, Okonkwo has a role model figure to look up to in terms of what makes an elite Premier League level keeper. This strategy of having veterans guide talented prospects to better make the leap to top-level Championship and Premier League football can help Wrexham in other outfield positions too.
The only question is, whether the Red Dragons are willing to keep a few older names around the club or not.
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- ‘Interest’ – Wrexham pursue Serie A right-back to replace Issa Kabore
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