Dele Alli's hopes of sealing a move to Wrexham on a free transfer have disappeared after the Championship side confirmed the final place in their squad for the 2025-26 season has gone to returning star Ollie Rathbone. The former Como midfielder had been linked with a move to Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac's side after being released by the Serie A side but must now look elsewhere for a fresh challenge.
No place at Wrexham for Dele
Dele's future has been the subject of plenty of speculation following his release from Serie A side Como in the summer. The former Tottenham man made just one appearance for the club, which resulted in a red card against AC Milan, but isn't thought to be ready to call time on his career just yet. Wrexham had been touted as a potential destination for Dele but that door has now closed on the 29-year-old. The Welsh side did have one spot left in their squad for the current campaign but have confirmed that has now gone to Rathbone, who is returning from a lengthy injury lay-off, leaving no place left for Dele, as reported by Wales Online.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWrexham squad now complete
Wrexham's Hollywood owners enjoyed a big spending summer after being promoted to the Championship. A total of 13 players were brought in, including Liberato Cacace, Josh Windass, Conor Coady, Kieffer Moore. and Nathhan Broadhead. Rathbone is now the final player to be added to the squad, with manager Phil Parkinson happy with his progress as he prepares to make his long-awaited return to action.
"He's had a great 10 days so he's had a nice block of training now," he told The Leader. "We had a game arranged and the team we were due to be playing pulled out a couple of days before, which was frustrating, but we were able to have an in-house game last Wednesday. Then we've had further 11-v-11s this week as well just to prepare everybody for what is an important period coming up when we start again at Stoke."
Dele searching for new challenge
Dele has been spotted training in Bali as he considers his options and his next move. The 29-year-old is available as a free agent and has been happy to show off a training regime and his footballing skills while in Indonesia on Instagram. The former Tottenham man's talent is not in doubt but his lack of game time in recent seasons has led to question marks over his next move. Dele had looked set for a new challenge at Como, after an injury-ravaged time at Everton, but the club's decision not to offer a contract and allow him to move on is a real setback in his bid to get his career back on track.
Wrexham struggling in Championship
Wrexham, meanwhile, are finding life tough in the Championship despite a big-spending summer. Parkinson's side have managed just two wins from their first nine games but the boss is still feeling positive.
He told reporters: "We're pleased in terms of a lot of the performances The stats back that up with the performances getting more consistent through the game. It's keep improving the performance level. We've gone through some work with the lads this week and remind us of what we feel we're doing well and what we can do better, and looking forward to seeing us take that into this next run of games.
"In every game we've created good opportunities, and that's obviously important for us. But equally, the shape when we're attacking has been better and the structure out of possession. When to close and when to stay in our shape, I think we've improved on that in recent weeks and that's a key part of the game, not to go chasing in ones and twos. You've got to be ready as a group to press and when you go, you've got to go aggressively and look to win the ball back like we did when Lewis O'Brien got his chance against Birmingham."