Wrexham have confirmed the signing of Ollie Rathbone from Rotherham United for a club-record fee. The transfer, still awaiting approval from the EFL, sees the experienced midfielder commit to the club until the end of the 2026/27 season.
Rathbone, 27, brings substantial experience to Wrexham, having nearly 200 League One appearances under his belt from his time with Rochdale and Rotherham United.In the past two seasons, he has competed in the Championship with the Millers.
Expressing his excitem ent about the move, Rathbone said, “I’m delighted. I’m really excited to be here and to get going. To have back-to-back promotions, the club is obviously doing something very right from the outside looking in. There’s nowhere I’d rather be signing.”
He continued, “I’m really glad the move has been completed. It’s going to be a long season, but I’m hopeful that we’ll have another successful season.”
Rathbone’s career began at Manchester United’s academy, where he honed his skills before making his professional debut with Rochdale in League One.
During his five years with the Dale, he made 183 appearances and scored 15 goals.
He later joined Rotherham United in 2021, where he played a crucial role in their promotion-winning season and their EFL Trophy victory. Rathbone featured in 128 games for the Millers before making the switch to the STōK Cae Ras.
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson expressed his enthusiasm about the new addition, stating, “We’re delighted to welcome Ollie to the club. He’s a player with experience at Championship level and a promotion from League One earlier in his career. We’re looking forward to working Wrexham’s pre-season plans were significantly disrupted when Premier League heavyweights Arsenal and Liverpool both cancelled friendly matches against the League One team.
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After securing back-to-back promotions to the third tier of English football, owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney would have been hoping for a successful US tour to kickstart their League One campaign. However, last-minute decisions from the Champions League pair threw a spanner in the works.
Despite securing impressive draws against Bournemouth and Chelsea in California, Wrexham’s plans to face Mikel Arteta’s Premier League runners-up fell through. According to the Daily Mail, Arteta decided to cancel the planned match against Wrexham after considering the Gunners’ pre-season schedule.
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