Wrexham can now sign £7m striker who embarrassed Virgil van Dijk for FREE

Wrexham can now land previous target Patrick Bamford on a free transfer after Leeds United cut ties with him. The Red Dragons have already brought in 10 new faces this summer after gaining promotion to the Championship, but manager Phil Parkinson still wants more before the transfer window closes on Monday.

Extra firepower has been added with strikers Kieffer Moore and Ryan Hardie bought from Sheffield United and Plymouth respectively. Meanwhile, forwards Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich and Josh Windass from Sheffield Wednesday have also joined after significant spending was sanctioned by owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.

Earlier in the window, Wrexham were also linked with Leeds striker Bamford, and he is now available for free after being released by the Premier League new boys. The 31-year-old, who has one England cap to his name, left by mutual consent on Thursday after spending seven years at the club.

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It came after he was last month informed by boss Daniel Farke that he was not part of his plans this term and would be required to train with the club's under-21s if he decided to stay. Bamford admitted to feeling "raw" upon his departure from Leeds.

Posting on Instagram, he said: "Right now, with the way it has come to an end and the way things have been handled recently, it is all too raw for me to reflect on immediately. But in the years to come I will look back at this period of my life with nothing but joy and pride and be super happy with what I have achieved.

"I want to thank all the managers I played under but especially Marcelo Bielsa. I don't know where the club would be without the foundations he laid."

Bamford scored 60 goals in 205 appearances for the Whites after being recruited from Middlesbrough for £7million in 2018. He won promotion from the Championship twice with Leeds and impressed during their first spell back in the top flight in 2020, registering 17 goals.

It was in September of that year that Bamford showed up Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk during a Premier League clash at Anfield. The Reds emerged as 4-3 winners but were given a scare by Leeds, with Bamford netting a first half equaliser which saw the Dutch international accused of being "arrogant" by club legend Jamie Carragher.

The defender failed to bring a long ball down in the box, and allowed it to bounce into Bamford's path. The Leeds striker quickly pounced on the error, firing the ball home past a helpless Alisson Becker to make the score 2-2.

Carragher was less than pleased with Van Dijk's decision-making and slammed the centre-back for failing to take charge of the situation. However, Bamford's fortunes have gradually dipped since then following a series of injuries.

He didn't start a single game for Leeds in the Championship last season and failed to find the back of the net in his 17 substitute appearances. However, he could potentially provide an excellent back-up option for Wrexham, with their main frontman Moore currently contending with a niggling ankle injury.

The Wales international was initially hurt in the Welsh side's 2-1 defeat at Southampton on the opening day of the Championship season. Despite concerns he could be ruled out for a lengthy period, Moore later started in their 3-2 home defeat to West Brom and bagged two goals in the 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

But Parkinson confessed on Thursday he was still having to manager the player's injury, which could signal the need for another striker. Bamford being unattached would therefore potentially make him an attractive option.

"We are keeping him [Moore] going until the weekend and then we will assess the ankle after that," he said. "But he is strapping it up and getting on with it which is what you need but we have got to make sure he keeps getting training in his legs as well.

"If you look at the West Brom game, he didn't do anything for the whole week and was just half-a-yard away so we have got to get that balance right with him."

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