Player Wrexham have just made offer to sign actually boasts similar data to Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes
Wrexham are certainly showing some ambition in the transfer market after three successive promotions.
The Red Dragons have already been linked with Jamie Vardy after the man with 200 goals in 500 games for Leicester announced he would be leaving this summer, while Wrexham also want Tom Lawrence – a player once likened to Gareth Bale who boasts UEFA Europa League experience.
Therefore, nobody can argue that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney aren’t already trying to help Phil Parkinson ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign.
Now, Wrexham are working on a deal for a player who impressively possesses similar underlying numbers to that of Bruno Fernandes and Jude Bellingham.
Tom Cairney is a similar player to Manchester United and Real Madrid maestros
The Wrexham Insider understand Wrexham have made Tom Cairney an offer ahead of his contract expiring at Fulham, and his numbers should excite supporters.
Data site FBREF typically display the ten most similar players to a footballer across the last 365 days, and the Scotland international finds himself in esteemed company
Manchester United No.8 Fernandes is said to be the fourth most similar player to Cairney in Europe, while Real Madrid star Bellingham is eighth on the list. Interestingly, Declan Rice is also named, along with Ilkay Gundogan.
The Wrexham target averages an expected assists tally of 0.16 per 90 minutes compared to 0.25 from Fernandes, and is also close to the Portugal international when it comes to progressive passes every 90 minutes, averaging 8.23 compared to 9.29 from the Red Devils star.
Both Cairney and the Portuguese playmaker like to shoot from distance too, recording an average shot distance of 21.3 yards and 22.5 yards respectively – clearly, they are both midfielders who try to make things happen in attack.
How Tom Cairney compares to Jude Bellingham
In regards to Bellingham, Cairney actually outdoes the Birmingham academy graduate in terms of expected assists, registering 0.16 per game compared to 0.14 from the Real Madrid star.
They are also similar in terms of progressive carries towards goal, with Cairney recording 2.74 carries per game to Bellingham’s average of 2.68, while they are close on progressive passes too, like Fernandes.
The Nottingham-born midfielder may be turning 35 in January and could struggle to maintain these numbers, although you would expect him to be able to do so by dropping down a level into the Championship.
