Premier League aim key to Whiteman's Wrexham move

[Getty Images] Ben Whiteman says Wrexham's ambition to reach the Premier League was a key driver in his decision to join the club from Preston North End. Ahead of the current campaign, the central midfielder signed a three-year contract with the Red Dragons, who hold the option to extend Whiteman's deal by a further 12 months. The 30-year-old also revealed Ben Sheaf and Ollie Rathbone played a role in his decision to move to the Racecourse Ground. "I think it was the ambition of the football club wanting to get to the Premier League, that was something that I wanted to do in my career," he said of his switch to north Wales. "From the outside looking in, everything's done properly, really. "If you look at the football club, I spoke to a couple of the boys that I know here in Ollie Rathbone and Sheafo [Ben Sheaf], they told me what an exciting project it is. "But I think the ambition was the main goal really." The midfielder has featured in each of Wrexham's five matches across all competitions so far this season. Before Wrexham's contest at Swansea City on Saturday night (20:00 BST), manager Phil Parkinson admitted he was "really pleased" with Whiteman's performances so far. Despite an encouraging start to life with Wrexham, Whiteman - who made more than 200 appearances for Preston - admits it was a difficult decision to leave Deepdale in the summer. "I've got great memories from that football club, I captained it and it was a huge honour for me," he said. "I've still got loads of mates there now. They've had a really disappointing start, but I'm sure they'll turn it around. "They've got some great people at the football club and hopefully they can do that. "But now I'm a Wrexham player and my full focus is on getting us to the Premier League." Whiteman left the Lilywhites on a sour note - with North End boss Paul Heckingbottom questioning the midfielder's conduct just two days before he secured a transfer to Wrexham. "Ben knew there was a line I didn't want him to cross and unfortunately he has," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire in early August. Despite his somewhat bitter exit from the Lancashire side, Whiteman stated he had no control over what others said about his situation. "It's football and I can't control what people say," added Whiteman. "There's a few people that knew what happened and that's all I can say."