Ryan Reynolds must get his wallet out – Wrexham’s Premier League dream won’t happen sitting back

If someone had told me in 2020 that Wrexham would be playing in the Championship in five years’ time, I’d have laughed them out of the room. In April of that year, the Red Dragons registered their lowest-ever position, finishing 20th in the National League after clubs voted to end the 2019/20 season early following the Covid outbreak.

Wrexham were precariously positioned just three points above the drop zone, only a sliver away from slipping into regional, mostly part-time football. The club was also in a perilous situation off the field as directors warned the pandemic was having a “serious effect” on its financial health.

Enter Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at a time when Wrexham were in urgent need of a lifeline. Fast forward to the present day and, in what feels like a fever dream, Phil Parkinson’s side are now just one step away from the Premier League after securing three successive promotions.

As a supporter of around 25 years, the list of teams Wrexham will be playing in the Championship next season really whets the appetite. In fact, I must have run through it at least a dozen times already.

When Reynolds and McElhenney attended their first game, it was against Maidenhead United in the fifth tier. The prospect of facing the likes of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton, who were all plying their trade in the Premier League last term, is undoubtedly an exciting one.

But with the top tier now in sight, the club stands at a critical crossroads. Where do they go from here – do they go all-out for a potential fourth fairytale promotion? Or would aiming for consolidation and creating a sustainable base be a better idea before mounting a challenge?

The views of the owners already seem pretty clear. Not long after Wrexham’s latest promotion from League One was confirmed, McElhenney wrote on X: “If I’m being honest I don’t even know what the word ‘consolidation’ means,” before tagging the club into his post.

McElhenney’s enthusiasm is infectious, but after once shaking buckets around the town centre to raise funds to keep the club alive, I find it hard not to feel slightly nervous in the back of my head. The Championship is a different beast from any challenge the owners have faced before.

To put it plainly, it’s an unpredictable dogfight and a financially volatile league at the best of times. Welsh comedian and football devotee Elis James, who, as a Swansea fan, knows just as well as anyone what life in the second tier is like.

“From what I know, the Championship is financial suicide for everyone because of the big contracts, and you’re earning less,” he said. That’s not a joke either – just look at clubs like Reading and Derby, and it’s not hard to see how it can all go wrong.

But James also acknowledges that Wrexham, buoyed by their booming commercial revenue and Hollywood backing, are in a unique position, with “less to worry about” in that regard. When I talked to football finance expert Dan Plumley, he also backed that up, pointing to the astonishing £26.7million revenue Wrexham pulled in whilst playing in League Two.

That figure dwarfs some current Championship clubs and should ease any concerns about the club’s position as far as profitability and sustainability (PSR) rules are concerned. Reynolds and McElhenney have also shored up Wrexham’s financial position by welcoming new minority investors in the form of the Allyn family from New York, who aren’t short of a dollar or two.

Next season will be the first time in 43 years that the club has played in the Championship, but they’re not going into battle light-handed.

So, what does that mean as far as going for promotion next season is concerned? No one is saying it’ll be easy, but this is the time to be bold and go for it.

Wrexham’s revenue, commercial reach, and star-powered ownership offer a safety net which most clubs can only dream of. While most newcomers are fighting for survival, this shouldn’t be Wrexham’s reality.

As Plumley, speaking on behalf of Gambling Industry News, put it to me: “You could see them having a roll of the dice on trying to get to the Premier League for the next three years. With the owners, they’re likely to give it a go.”

Reynolds and McElhenney should not abandon all sense of caution. Championship success still depends on smart recruitment, strong squad depth, and tactical flexibility. Some will point to the club’s lack of infrastructure as a reason to hold back.

With no permanent training ground and a capacity of only 10,000 next season while a new stand is being built, it’s a fair argument. But when the Hollywood owners first came to town, they outlined a pretty clear goal: to reach the Premier League. It sounded fanciful at the time, but now it is within touching reach.

Momentum is important in football, and few are riding the wave like Wrexham right now. No one could whinge and whine if Wrexham fail to achieve that dream at the first time of asking. It would be quite the story.

They have already invested significantly in the club, but a large cash injection is needed again, and the mentality must be to aim high – which, under Parkinson, I’m sure it will be.

James, who was recently appointed as a judge for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, added: “If you’re a proper football person who’s worked in the game for years and years, you’re going to say, ‘let’s consolidate’. I don’t know if that’s good telly, though, and I’m not sure that’s how Hollywood superstars think.”

There’s a rare “lightning in a bottle” energy around Wrexham right now, and the owners need to strike while the iron is hot. If they harness it correctly, they might just achieve their dream of top-flight football sooner rather than later.

Fans are already excited about next season, with Wrexham recently linked with signing Premier League stars like Jamie Vardy and Tom Cairney in the summer transfer window. With PSR limits looming further down the line, a well-planned but ambitious push over the next few years would be both financially viable and strategically shrewd.

Because playing it too safe could cause them to lose their edge. What if the fairytale dulls, the brand stagnates, and new fans start moving on? Yes, the Championship is an unforgiving monster, and yes, the climb is steep.

But Wrexham now have the peak of the mountain within their reach, with financial backing and a global spotlight which few others can match. Sometimes in football, you get a window. And when it opens, you don’t consolidate – you climb through it.

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