Nickson informed Newcastle United of his intention to leave the club in mid-June, with West Ham United and Birmingham City among those chasing his signature before Wrexham emerged as clear frontrunners for his services.
The Welsh club are now closing in on appointing the long-serving Magpies recruitment chief as their new director of football, with Nickson expected to depart St James' Park this summer after 15 years at the club.
Nickson joined Newcastle from Blackburn Rovers in 2011 and was promoted to head of recruitment in 2017, playing a key role in a string of high-profile signings including Joelinton's £40m move from Hoffenheim in 2019 and Bruno Guimaraes' arrival from Lyon in 2022.
He was also instrumental in the club-record swoop for Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United earlier in 2019, and later contributed to deals for Sven Botman and Anthony Gordon as Newcastle's transfer strategy shifted following their 2021 takeover.
Newcastle are yet to officially confirm his departure, but Nickson is poised to take up a newly-created role at the Racecourse Ground in September, working closely alongside manager Phil Parkinson. According to reports in England, Wrexham are understood to have moved ahead of Birmingham City and several other Championship rivals to win the race for Nickson's signature after his exit talks with Newcastle were described as amicable rather than acrimonious.
The appointment would represent one of the highest-profile backroom hires of Wrexham's rapid rise through English football since the Hollywood-backed takeover by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and underlines the scale of the Welsh club's ambition heading into a second successive season in the Championship.
Wrexham view the appointment as a statement of intent as they push to build on last season's Championship campaign and continue their pursuit of a first-ever place in the Premier League. Parkinson has been kept regularly updated on the pursuit and is expected to lean heavily on Nickson's experience once he is in post.
Nickson's exact remit has not been finalised, though he is expected to have a hand in both transfer strategy and the club's broader football operations as Wrexham's ownership continues to invest in infrastructure and playing budget following their rapid rise through the EFL.