Phil Parkinson has revealed that a potential loan exit for Wrexham midfielder Harry Ashfield will not happen this weekend.
Interest has emerged throughout League One and League Two for the 19-year-old over the past week, with the RobRyanRed podcast reporting that Bristol Rovers were one of those teams.
However, more names have emerged, with Cambridge United also being named as a potential destination by Bristol Live’s Will Murray on Wednesday.
Ashfield Remains In Wales For Now
Speaking to the media ahead of Wrexham’s Friday night FA Cup clash against Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest, Phil Parkinson spoke about Ashfield’s situation and when a move away can be expected. (Quotes via Bristol Live):
“There’s a lot of clubs ringing about Harry Ash and rightly so because he’s a very good player.
“I feel he’s been a bit unlucky if you look at his performances in the Carabao Cup, they were really good, he’s warranted a bit more game time, but he’s in the squad tomorrow, and he’s with us for the time being.
“That’s just, you know, the January window, there’s a lot of moving parts, and there’s obviously going to be interest in Harry because people will be watching those performances in the cup competition, but at the moment he’s involved with us, and we’ll make a decision when it’s right for us.”
Coming through the academy at the Racecourse Ground, Ashfield has broken through to become a first-team option for Wrexham, playing his first ever league match on New Year’s Day during the Red Dragons’ away win at Blackburn Rovers.
Cambridge Have Time
With the U’s facing a League Two reprieve as they face Birmingham City in the FA Cup, there is still a bit of time for Neil Harris to get his target in this window.
Of course, Cambridge United will need to convince Wrehxam that they are the right destination for Harry Ashfield amid interest from four other clubs in League One and Two, including Rovers.
They should have a good case to make, with Harris getting his side firmly challenging for promotion this season, a far cry from the situation Steve Evans finds himself in North Bristol.
At a time when United need to find some new creative sparks to get the lowest-scoring team in the top half of League Two find the net more, adding a young prospect hungry to prove himself that he can regularly play would be a great move, and perhaps a better choice than the Gas.