Wrexham snubbed by free agent after Derby County exit

Wrexham have been snubbed by Barnsley new boy Conor Hourihane following his Derby County exit, according to Yorkshire Post reporter Leon Wobschall on X.
Wrexham have apparently looked into luring the midfielder to the Racecourse Ground this summer following their promotion from League Two. However, he has opted to move back to Barnsley in a player-coach role instead.

Hourihane, 33, cut ties with Derby County at the end of last season after they went up to the Championship along with Portsmouth and Oxford United. He has since been weighing up his next move in the game ahead of the next campaign.

In this latest update regarding his situation, journalist Wobschall has claimed on X that he has ‘turned down’ an offer from the Red Dragons recently in favour of a switch to Oakwell. Phil Parkinson’s side will subsequently have to look for other targets in the middle of the park.

Wrexham rejected
Hourihane would have been a useful player for Wrexham and would have injected some quality and experience into their ranks.

They have a vacancy to fill in the middle of the park following their decision to part ways with Luke Young. He wasn’t the only player to head out the exit door either, with Ben Tozer and Callum McFadzean also departing, among others.

Hourihane has links with Barnsley though which will have swayed his mind to go back to South Yorkshire.

He joined them back in 2014 after early spells at Sunderland, Ipswich Town and Plymouth Argyle and went on to score 31 goals in 134 games in all competitions.

Aston Villa then lured him away and he has since had stints at Swansea City, Sheffield United and most recently Derby County.

Hourihane has always been a steady Championship player and has even tested himself in the Premier League as recently as 2021.

He fired 13 goals in 98 matches for Derby County during his two years at Pride Park but parted ways with Paul Warne’s men.

Harry Mail has worked for The72 since 2017 and is based in the North West. He has also written for the Yorkshire Evening Post, The Star and Lancashire Evening Post among other sites since graduating from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Sports Journalism.