Rangers Pursue Josh Windass Again as Wrexham Hold Firm

Rangers are back at Josh Windass’ door. Again.

According to talkSPORT, the Ibrox club have formalised their interest in the Wrexham forward ahead of the summer window, launching a fresh attempt to bring him back to Glasgow. It is the third time they have tried to re-sign a player who once divided opinion in Govan but has since rebuilt his reputation in emphatic style.

Between 2016 and 2018, Windass made 73 appearances for Rangers, showing flashes of the talent that has now turned him into Wrexham’s Player of the Season. This pursuit, though, feels different. It is being driven from the dugout.

Danny Rohl, now in charge at Ibrox, knows exactly what he is chasing. He worked closely with Windass at Sheffield Wednesday, where the forward flourished under his watch, scoring 50 goals and becoming the heartbeat of Rohl’s attack. That shared history is fuelling Rangers’ push as they plan a major rebuild after a bruising campaign.

Rangers finished third in the Scottish Premiership, trailing Celtic and Hearts, and the club hierarchy has accepted that the front line needs a serious overhaul. Windass sits near the top of that list. So does Lawrence Shankland. The Glasgow side are already in advanced talks to prise the Hearts striker away from Tynecastle, a deal that underlines the scale of their planned reshuffle.

Yet every time the conversation turns to Windass, the story runs into the same brick wall: Wrexham are not interested in selling.

The forward has been central to the club’s rise and has just delivered a historic individual season. Sixteen Championship goals – a club record – and five assists across 41 league games underline his influence on a side that fell just short of the play-offs. He has become the face of a project that has captured global attention, and Wrexham have no intention of letting their star attraction go cheaply.

They have already proved as much. Rangers tested their resolve in January with a formal approach. Wrexham rejected it and made their stance clear: Windass is a cornerstone, not a trading chip.

The player himself has not exactly been angling for the exit. Speaking to talkSPORT earlier this month, Windass pointed to the three-year contract he signed last summer and sounded every inch a man invested in the journey at the Racecourse Ground.

“Yeah, I signed a three-year deal in the summer. I feel like I had a really good year this year, and yeah, hopefully next year we can go one better,” he said.

Those words will have gone down well in North Wales and less so in the Blue Room at Ibrox. With his deal running until 2028, Wrexham hold all the cards. The contract length gives the Hollywood-backed club immense leverage, both financially and strategically, at a time when their ambitions are growing as quickly as their profile.

Transfer specialist Ben Jacobs has reported that, for all the noise, formal club-to-club negotiations over Windass have not yet begun. That detail matters. It means Rangers are still on the outside, pressing their faces against the glass, while Wrexham can afford to wait, watch, and name their price if they ever decide to listen.

For now, the Welsh side are focused on arming themselves for another tilt at the Championship play-offs. The gap was narrow this season; the belief inside the club is that it can be bridged with smart additions and, crucially, by keeping their best players. Windass sits at the top of that list.

Rangers, meanwhile, must decide how far they are willing to go for a forward they know well but no longer control. Shankland could arrive. Other attacking targets will emerge. Yet the lure of a reunion between Rohl and Windass, in a revamped Rangers side desperate to reclaim domestic supremacy, will be hard to ignore.

One club needs a statement signing. The other is determined not to lose its statement player.

Something will have to give.