James McClean Linked With Unthinkable Wrexham Transfer As Manager Speaks Out
Wrexham’s James McClean has been linked with a move back to the League of Ireland.
The Republic of Ireland winger is currently with Wrexham but has made just 12 appearances in all competitions this term, many of which have come from the bench.
In turn, there has been a suggestion that McClean could return to Derry City, who he played for between 2008 and 2011 before securing a £350,000 switch to Sunderland in August 2011.
“No comment is probably the answer there,” stated Derry manager Tiernan Lynch told the Belfast Telegraph, when asked about the prospect of McClean returning to the club.
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“There’s lots of things going on behind the scenes and, as I said, there’s a lot of hard work going on from top to bottom in the club, we want to strengthen.
“We want to bring in players who we feel will get us closer to where we want to go, and that’s probably all I can say at this stage.”
McClean joined Wrexham from Wigan Athletic for £250,000 in August 2023 and swiftly became a central figure for the Welsh outfit as they rose to the Championship.
On his future, McClean told Nicky Byrne HQ: "I'll be honest, I've really enjoyed it [at Wrexham] up until the last two or three months.
“It's not been ideal, I've not been playing as much as I'd like, which is never a good thing. You want to be playing and you want to be in the mix.
"I've never dealt really well with not playing. I wouldn't really say it's bad times, but it's been not as enjoyable personally for myself.
“When you're younger, you do daft stuff and you don't really handle situations, maybe as maturely as you do as you get older.
"Nowadays, I just channel that frustration and annoyance and do my [boxing] training. Before, I'd throw my toys out of the pram.
“Now, I just channel that frustration into the punch bag and it seems to blow off a bit of steam. You kind of feel better for it afterwards."
McClean has admitted he has flirted with the prospect of entering the world of boxing upon the end of his football career.
He said: "I do want to box. Misfits (boxing company) is opening up opportunities for a lot of people who aren't professional boxers to give them the opportunity to step in and experience what it's like to be a boxer.
"Absolutely, it's something I want to do and there has been background chats about it, but I'm contracted at the moment. It's definitely something I want to do in the near future.
"A lot of my training now is boxing training. I have a bigger passion now for boxing than I do for football. I would rather watch boxing than watch football. It's something I want to do and it's something I want to experience to tick off my bucket list."
Chris Byfield