O’Connell joins Wrexham’s promotion push

WEXHAM added to their squad on deadline day by signing Irish centre-back Eoghan O’Connell from Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson was seeking reinforcements after Jordan Tunnicliffe and Aaron Hayden picked up injures in Sunday’s dramatic 3-3 draw against Sheffield United at The Racecourse in the FA Cup fourth round.

O’Connell, who has signed a permanent deal at The Racecourse, only joined League One side Charlton last summer following the expiration of his contract at Rochdale, with the 27-year-old putting pen to paper on a three-year contract at The Valley. He was a regular under former Addicks boss Ben Garner but sustained an injury at the end of October and only appeared as a substitute since returning to the fold at the start of the year.

Born in Cork, O’Connell began his youth playing career in the Republic of Ireland and joined the Celtic academy in 2011, making his first-team debut three years later.

While with the Scottish Premiership side, O’Connell (pictured) had loan spells with Oldham Athletic, Cork City and Walsall.

In 2017, O’Connell signed for Bury where he spent two seasons before moving to Rochdale in the summer of 2019.

During his three campaigns with Dale, O’Connell was Player of the Season in 2021-22.

O’Connell, who has been capped by Republic of Ireland at under 19 and 21 level, will be available to make his debut when Wrexham continue the National League title challenge against Altrincham on Saturday, subject to international clearance.

“It’s a club on the up. It’s an exciting part of the season to come in, and the lads have done well to get us to this point,” said O’Connell.

“I know what it’s like coming to the end of the season, targeting promotion, when the pressure’s on so I’m really looking forward to it.

“The ambition of the club, with the manager and players here, is obviously promotion so I’ll throw myself in and see how I can contribute to it.”

Reds’ boss Parkinson added: “I’m very pleased, Eoghan is a very strong signing for us, we had the disappointment of losing a couple of players over the weekend, but it was important we acted quickly.

“He has a lot of experience at a high level and he will bring a lot of quality. The last few days have been long searching for the player we felt could make the difference for us and I’d like to thank the Co-Chairmen for their support in bringing in Eoghan to the club.”