Wrexham are looking to hijack Crystal Palace’s move for Angers striker Sidiki Cherif with a Championship-record £19m bid for the youngster.
Wrexham Launch £19m Sidiki Cherif Bid
Championship side Wrexham have made an official approach for Angers striker Sidiki Cherif.
Reports suggest that the north Wales club are making a club-record £19m bid for the 19-year-old, who is also drawing interest from the French top-flight and the Premier League.
The Red Dragons’ offer is said to include a £12m upfront fee, with a further £7m in bonuses.
It also includes a substantial promotion payment should they rise to the Premier League.
Not only would this surpass Nathan Broadhead’s £10m move as the club’s record transfer, but it would also overtake Ipswich’s £17.5m move for Sindre Walle Egeli as the league’s record transfer.
Crystal Palace are linked with Cherif, too, while the forward has rejected a move to Paris FC.
Palace are in the market for a new striker amid the rumoured exit of Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The France international is being linked with moves to Aston Villa and Juventus, while his prospective exit has drawn links between Palace and Patrick Agyemang of Derby County.
It has since been revealed that Agyemang will not be moving to south London, however.
Wrexham hope to sway Cherif away from a move to Selhurst Park by offering him game time right away, something the Eagles aren’t able to guarantee the impressive youngster.
Cherif is Angers’ top goalscorer this term with four goals in 18 Ligue 1 appearances.
He scored in three consecutive matches against Monaco, Lorient and Marseille back in October, with his most recent strike coming in a 4-1 win over Nantes in mid-December.
Should he agree to a move to Y Cae Ras, he will become the club’s first January signing.
Wrexham Look To Boost Promotion Hopes
The Reds hope the addition of Cherif will be able to boost their chances of promotion.
Being promoted via the automatic spots seems highly unlikely as things stand, but sealing their spot in next season’s Premier League via the playoffs remains a realistic possibility.
Currently occupying ninth place in the table, they are just two points adrift of the playoffs.
They enjoyed a fine spell of form between Christmas and early January, further bolstering their promotion beliefs, as they won five consecutive matches across all competitions.
This run included Championship wins over Sheffield United, Preston North End, Blackburn and Derby, as well as a penalty shootout triumph over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.
Parkinson’s men have dropped five points in their last two though, having suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Norwich last weekend, followed by a 1-1 stalemate against Leicester on Tuesday.
They return to action with a trip to the English capital to face QPR on Saturday afternoon.
