Ryan Reynolds' 10-year Wrexham plan hits stumbling block after fire sale warning
Wrexham could face their toughest campaign so far under the co-ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney with EFL rulings meaning they can currently only add one more player to their senior squad.
The Red Dragons have been transformed after the Hollywood pair assumed the reins back in 2020, with the club having earned back-to-back promotions in their last two campaigns. After winning the National League, the club's chairmen added stars such as James McClean and Steven Fletcher as the Welsh outfit finished as runners-up in League Two.
Set to compete in the third tier of the EFL pyramid for a first time in two decades next term, the upcoming season could prove to be a stern test for Phil Parkinson's side. In fact, a super computer has already predicted that Wrexham will finish in 19th place in League One on their return, as per Goal.
The forecast placing in the final table would mean that the Dragons would beat the drop. However, having been on a constant upwards trajectory in the four years under Reynolds and McElhenney, the prospect of a first relegation battle in their tenure would certainly present a new set of challenges.
Four years into what has always been sold as a long-term project by the A-List duo, the pair have made no secret of their desire to reach the Premier League in the future. Speaking back in January 2023, actor Reynolds admitted: "In 10 years’ time, the plan has and always will be the Premier League."
Moreover, he also informed S4C: "Of course our aim is to reach the Premier League. Why not? If it takes five years, or 20 years, that's the goal. The most challenging thing about that would be the need to revamp the stadium, but that would be a really nice problem to have.”
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Phil Parkinson, manager of Wrexham, spoke of his pride after leading his side to promotion to League One
His vision is shared by his business partner McElhenney too, who also spoke of the club's unapologetically lofty ambitions previously, acknowledging: "From our point of view, this is a march towards the English Premier League. Nobody believes that it will be easy or that it is going to happen in the next few years."
Still, this summer will prove an interesting period in the club's development, not least due to EFL restrictions decreeing that the club can only register 22 senior players - meaning sales may eventually have to be made in order to bring players in. Despite the departures of stalwarts Ben Tozer, Luke Young, Callum McFadzean, Aaron Hayden, Rob Lainton and Jordan Tunnicliffe, they still have 21 players on their books.
The mood in the camp is buoyant, though, with head coach Parkinson speaking with pride about the club's recent achievements, saying: "It's a very proud moment for myself and all the staff but we always speak about how everybody has to pull together in a football club to achieve days like this – we've certainly had that since I came in.
"It means so much because getting promotions and getting over the line at the end of the season is hard because everybody has wanted to beat us this season as we know, with the publicity that we got last year, teams have had that extra edge to try and beat us."