WREXHAM have been offered the chance to sign a number of stars who played in the Champions League last season, according to reports.
The Welsh club have enjoyed a stunning rise up the football pyramid to reach the Championship after three back-to-back promotions from the National League.
Their ambitious owners – Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – are determined to write their own Hollywood story into English football and are targeting Premier League football within the next two years.
That ambition has led to the Dragons often signing players who are top draw for the division they are in, such as Paul Mullin – the poster boy of their rise – who is now at Wigan on loan.
It is something which has already been displayed this summer, with the Racecourse Ground club welcoming Wales international Kieffer Moore yesterday and following the arrival of England international Conor Coady as two deals from a reported £20million war chest.
They even made a major statement of intent by trying to sign Christian Eriksen following the expiry of his contract at Manchester United.
The Dane turned down the deal in hopes of landing a top-flight move but was said to have been left impressed by the offer presented to him by Wrexham CEO Michael Williamson.
Despite being knocked back by the midfielder, news of the bid quickly got around and saw Wrexham offered players who would have previously only been considered a dream.
According to the Daily Mail , some of the stars offered to them by agents even played in the Champions League last season.
Manager Phil Parkinson had kept in touch with a number of Dutch agents, while the club itself had eyed players as far as Argentina and Australia while also looking on the European continent.
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Background checks for players were described as being done “ten to the dozen”, prompting a degree of frustration as a so-called “Wrexham Tax” has reared its head.
Such was the intensity of work as they tried to get deals over the line that Parkinson and Williamson both recall ending a number of their days during the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand at 2 and 3am.
At least nine new stars were targeted originally, with a vamped-up forward line top of the priority list.
So far they have landed seven, with Lewis O’Brien , Liberato Cacace, Coady, Moore, George Thomason and Ryan Hardie all arriving for a combined £11.1m, while Josh Windass and Danny Ward have also been added on free transfers.
Wrexham are now looking to add Ipswich winger Nathan Broadhead in a club record deal of £7.5m.
There is also talk of signing highly-rated Ajax star Sivert Mannsverk to bolster the midfield in a deal which could cost around £4m.
All of this has also come while the club’s ground undergoes a makeover, which includes a £1.7m hybrid pitch with undersoil heating to future proof it for Fifa and Uefa requirements.
A new Kop stand is also under construction and expected to be completed for the 2026/27 season which would take the stadium capacity up to 18,000, bigger than Bournemouth and Brentford .
The ambition of the owners paired with significant backing has breathed life into a dream many did not consider possible in such a short time span.
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