Wrexham assess Mullin amid his uncertain future

Phil Parkinson says Wrexham will assess Paul Mullin over the coming weeks before making a decision on the striker's future later on in the January transfer window.

Mullin joined Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan deal in June, although, this month, the Red Dragons stated that the League One side had activated the break clause in the forward's loan deal to allow him to return to the Stok Cae Ras prematurely.

He resumed training with Wrexham this week, although, in a statement, the club had already stated they would "explore all possible options for the striker's future".

But speaking ahead of his side's FA Cup third round contest with Nottingham Forest on Friday night (19:30 GMT), Parkinson said Mullin would be involved in a behind-closed-doors fixture against Liverpool next week.

"Mulls has been fine. He's joined in training and looks in good shape," said Parkinson.

"I think with Mulls, the fact that he's only played for one club (this season), the option to go out on loan is there again.

"But at the moment, we've got a fixture against Liverpool on Tuesday and we want him to play in that because we want him to be at his sharpest and see where he is."

The 31-year-old made 26 appearances in all competitions for Wigan and scored five goals during his loan spell with the Latics.

"Obviously the difficulty we've got, if we include him in the squad and put him on even for one minute, then that limits his options of going out on loan later in the month," added Parkinson.

"So we're just going to utilise these next couple of weeks to get Mulls as fit and strong as he can and then we'll sit down together and make the decision whether he's in the 25 with us or if the right thing is for him to go and get some football until the end of the season."

Mullin has had numerous injury issues over recent seasons, but is Wrexham's seventh-highest scorer of all time having netted 110 goals since joining from Cambridge United in the summer of 2021.

The forward ended each of the club's promotion-winning campaigns in 2022-23 and 2023-24 as Wrexham's top scorer.

His contract with the club expires following the conclusion of the 2026-27 season.

Meanwhile, Parkinson says Wrexham have fielded numerous calls from other clubs about the availability of midfielder Harry Ashfield.

The 19-year-old has impressed in cup competitions for the Red Dragons and made his league debut in the 2-0 win at Blackburn Rovers on New Year's Day.

But he could leave the club on loan in January in a bid to play regularly at first team level.

"There's a lot of clubs ringing about Harry Ashfield and rightly so because he's a very good player," added Parkinson.

"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.

"The January window, there's a lot of moving parts and there's a lot obviously going to be interested 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."

Elsewhere, Jake Bickerstaff - who scored six times in 28 appearances for the club - has joined Cheltenham Town on a permanent transfer.

The forward initially joined the League Two outfit on a season-long loan deal, but has signed a permanent deal with the Robins until the summer of 2027.