League One Wrexham have secured the signing of Championship striker Jay Rodriguez from Burnley on a bumper deal this Januaru transfer window.
Jay Rodriguez has been a staple at Burnley for a long while and appears to be another attacking threat that Wrexham would love to bring into the club. Phil Parkinson’s side currently sit third in League One, six points behind Wycombe Wanderers for the final automatic promotion spot. With injuries having been a huge part of the struggles for the Welsh club this season, the club feels more reinforcements, especially in the attacking areas are needed.
Mike McGrath of the Daily Telegraph is reporting that Wrexham have prepared a package to try and lure Rodriguez to join the Welsh side. McGrath is saying the package is worth £15,000 per week including add-ons. This move comes right on the heels of Wrexham completing a club record transfer for Reading’s Sam Smith. Pete O’Rourke has confirmed that the experienced Englishman is headed to the Racecourse Grounds for a medical to complete the move. Wrexham’s current strikers have struggled in front of goal this season with their top scorer currently sitting on just six goals.
Rodriguez a Valuable Reinforcement?
A move for Jay Rodriguez is fascinating. The 35-year-old is in his second long stint with Burnley and has experience playing at the highest levels of English football. Having played for the likes of Southampton and West Bromwich Albion, Rodriguez has been as consistent as they come having made many appearances for his clubs and scoring goals. However, recently, the goalscoring has dried up with Rodriguez scoring double-digit goals twice in the last seven seasons.
However, Wrexham are looking for a striker who can consistently play as they have had to deal with injury woes to their strikers all season. These injuries have severely impacted the ability of Wrexham to score with their attacking players. Rodriguez, though he is in his mid-thirties, can certainly provide that quality. Though he has only scored two goals this season in twenty appearances, a move to League One might be exactly what Rodriguez needs to finish his career.
Will This Impact Burnley’s Attack?
It has been well-documented that Burnley’s attack has been rather absent with no one scoring double digit goals. Josh Brownhill (9) and Zian Fleming (6) are the only players for Burnley that have scored more than three goals, and both are midfielders. The lack of options in attacking players has certainly been a concern, even if it has not hurt the club’s season. Burnley are in third place only a point behind second-place Sheffield United, so all is not doom and gloom. With the sell of Rodriguez, there is a concern that Burnley do not have the attack needed to keep up a top three pace. However, when a club has a lockdown like Burnley does, one can understand why Burnley do not feel the need to score boatloads of goals.
An acquisition like Jay Rodriguez by Wrexham shows what their aims for the rest of the season are. With all the attacking options Wrexham have, it will be interesting to see how the team selection works out for Phil Parkinson.
