January 2026 — Beating a Premier League Club, and Standing Pat

A WrexPat's monthly look back at Wrexham AFC — January 2026

January delivered the single best result of Wrexham's season, and then the club spent the rest of the month doing almost nothing in the transfer market — which, after watching it unfold, felt like exactly the right call.

A first win over top-flight opposition in 26 years

Wrexham opened the year with a 2-0 win at Blackburn, Sam Smith and a "sublime volley" from Ollie Rathbone doing the damage. But the month's real headline came in the FA Cup third round: down and up through a wild 3-3 draw with Nottingham Forest, Wrexham won on penalties after Omari Hutchinson missed — the club's first win over Premier League opposition in 26 years. I watched that shootout with my hands over my face. It's the kind of result you wait a career of supporting a club for.

A quiet window, on purpose

Net transfer spend for January: £0. Most of the activity was loan business — Paul Mullin returned from Wigan, Conor Coady went out to Charlton, Andy Cannon to Burton — while James McClean left on a free for Derry City. Parkinson clearly prioritized stability over incomings, and with the squad already this deep, I don't think that's a mistake — the summer window did the heavy lifting; January was for holding the line.

The draw sets up a big one

The FA Cup fourth-round draw paired Wrexham at home with Ipswich Town, with the tie generating enough demand that tickets went on sale within days of the draw. Fearless in Devotion opened the year covering the Blackburn win as part of what they called a "perfect start to 2026" — for once, I don't think anyone's arguing with the framing.

Sources: ESPN — Blackburn match, CBS Sports — Nottingham Forest shootout, Sportsmole — January transfer window, Wrexham AFC — Ipswich ticket news, and Fearless in Devotion's early-January episode.

Header photo: Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, by John Lord, via Flickr / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).