The Wrexham manager admitted those options include the possibility of another move away for Mullin before the window closes.
Mullin, one of the central figures in Wrexham’s extraordinary rise through the divisions, has yet to make a competitive appearance for the club this season and remains eligible to leave on loan.
After spending the first half of the campaign with League One side Wigan Athletic, the 30-year-old is now back training with the Red Dragons as Parkinson assesses what comes next.
The striker featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Liverpool on Tuesday, a game Parkinson felt was an important step as Mullin searches for rhythm and sharpness.
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“With Mulls, he needed the game on Tuesday because he hadn't had a lot of starts recently,” explained Parkinson.
“He's trained well and played well on Tuesday.
“It's that situation where we need to find the right route for him from now until the end of the season and we're just working with him on that.”
That admission leaves the door open to Mullin moving on again this month, despite his iconic status at the Racecourse Ground.
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Since joining Wrexham, he has scored 110 goals for the club, making him their seventh highest scorer of all time and a key driver behind three successive promotions from the National League to the Championship.
Like Elliot Lee — another promotion hero whose short-term future lies away from north Wales — Mullin remains under contract until the summer of 2027.
But with Wrexham now firmly established in the second tier and pushing towards the play-off places, Parkinson has been clear that squad management and game time must come first.
Lee, meanwhile, is set to leave the club on loan in search of regular minutes after completing the bulk of his recovery from knee surgery.
The 31-year-old has not featured in the Championship this season, with his only appearances coming in the League Cup.
“Elliot's had a good week and a half of training and wants to go on loan and get some game time, so we respect that,” Parkinson said.
“There was a club which was very close to agreeing a deal and they've gone elsewhere for a different profile of player, but I'm sure there'll be other clubs looking at Elliot.”
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Mullin and Lee’s situations underline the difficult balancing act facing Parkinson as Wrexham continue to punch above their weight in the Championship.
The Reds have won their last four league games and sit ninth in the table, just one point outside the play-off positions, leaving little margin for sentiment in team selection.
While movement remains possible at the attacking end of the pitch, Parkinson has been far more definitive when it comes to the club’s defensive core.
He has firmly dismissed speculation linking centre-back Max Cleworth with a big-money move away from the Racecourse.
“No, I haven't heard that at all. Maybe because he wasn't in the team,” Parkinson said, addressing reports of interest from Aston Villa.
“Max is very much part of our plans. He just had a problem with his groin and we've been getting him through the games.”
Cleworth, 23, has been a near ever-present in the Championship this season, starting all but one of Wrexham’s 26 league fixtures.
He was rested for the FA Cup third-round victory over Nottingham Forest purely as a precaution, with Parkinson explaining the decision had been planned in advance.
“We left him out at Blackburn but we made a decision, whatever the outcome at Derby, he was going to be rested for this game to give him a chance to be fit for next weekend, and the same as Matty James.”
The defender’s rise has mirrored Wrexham’s own ascent.
Handed his league debut in Parkinson’s first match in charge — a 2-2 draw at Solihull Moors in August 2021 — Cleworth has since amassed more than 150 appearances in all competitions and collected three Young Player of the Season awards along the way.
As Wrexham prepare to return to Championship action against Norwich City on Saturday, Cleworth is expected to be available again, while the focus behind the scenes remains on shaping a squad capable of sustaining their momentum through the second half of the season.
