Among the many big names linked with Wrexham this summer, Ben Davies is one of the most experienced and expensive of the lot, but there are alternatives.
With Wrexham heading for the Championship, naturally, the playing squad needs to improve. It makes sense, then, that the Red Dragons are being put forward for a much higher level of transfer target this summer.
But, many of the players mooted as options for Wrexham are so expensive that they border on the nonsensical at times.
Ben Davies had been suggested as a potential Wrexham signing, and is a player fans would love to see at the Racecourse Ground. Even his new contract at Tottenham Hotspur has not put Wrexham off, apparently.
But, is it the right move, considering how much it would cost Wrexham to bring Davies back to Wales?
Kortney Hause is a cheaper and younger option than Ben Davies
We did the maths, and according to data from Capology, Ben Davies’ current deal at Spurs is worth £80,000 per week (or £4.16m per year).
That’s a huge sum of money for any club in the Championship, or indeed even in the Premier League, really. Add to that the fact that Davies now has more time on his contract, meaning Spurs could command a transfer fee, and the deal looks impossible.
Transfermarkt put Davies down as being worth around €6m (which equates to roughly £5,087,970), meaning Wrexham would not only have to drastically change their wage structure, but they’d also have to break their transfer fee record.
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Alternatively, Wrexham could save more than £8.6m by going for free agent Kortney Hause, instead. The defender is younger, just as versatile as Davies, and has now been released by Aston Villa.
The caveat is, Hause has not featured for Villa since the 2022/23 campaign due to injury issues. But, he’s back in training now (as per BBC Sport), and if Wrexham can sign him for nothing and get him tied to a deal on the £10,000 per week wages he was paid at Aston Villa, it would surely be a risk worth taking.
Hause can bring athleticism to the Wrexham defence, and he’s a left-footed player just like Davies so he can cover down that side of the pitch where the Red Dragons are weaker.
Aston Villa icon Gabby Agbonlahor was full of praise for Hause in the past (via Football Insider), saying: “Whenever he’s come in for Aston Villa he’s done well. He’s not looked phased, he’s not looked out of place, he’s looked very strong, he’s got the pace and he’s good in the air.”
There is almost no way that Wrexham will be able to persuade Davies to drop down a division and take a hefty pay cut, so spending any time considering that is time wasted in the transfer market.
What we know about Wrexham’s wage structure for 2025/26
With the commercial revenue from the Championship and Wrexham’s own brilliant branding and sponsorship deals bringing in even more money, we know the club can afford to flex its financial muscles this summer.
However, it sounds like Wrexham will offer wages up to £25,000 per week, maybe £30,000 at a push. That pretty much rules them out of the running to sign the likes of Davies, Danny Ings, Jamie Vardy and more.