FOUR years ago, Wrexham were in the National League. The club was fighting for survival after years of financial mismanagement when two Hollywood celebrities took over the reins. That Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were even interested in buying Wales’ oldest football club was surreal. What has happened since then even more so.

By beating Charlton Athletic on Saturday, Wrexham secured their third promotion in a row. The Red Dragons will be in the Championship next season, putting them just one step away from the Premier League. Many doubted Reynolds and McElhenney would ever get anywhere near England’s top flight. Now, it’s within reach.

Of course, life in the Championship won’t be easy. While Wrexham have spent big relative to their competition in the English lower leagues, they are now at a completely different level on and off the pitch. Wrexham broke their transfer record to sign Sam Smith from Reading for £2m last summer. For context, the Championship transfer record is closer to £20m.

Nonetheless, Wrexham have proved people wrong at every step of their journey so far. They were told Phil Parkinson’s style of play wouldn’t work for a team at a higher level, yet his defence-first approach gave Wrexham the solid foundation for another promotion push this season. He was vindicated.

Critics said their ageing players would fail to deliver, yet their experience has been key. Now, many question whether Wrexham will be able to survive in the Championship, where clubs have better players and bigger budgets. Speculation is already swirling over who they could sign – see links to Jamie Vardy, Jonny Evans, and even Kevin de Bruyne.

“The jump in salaries is incredible, mind-blowing,” said Parkinson when asked about the challenge of signing players for the Championship next season. “Even coming up to [League One] level, the jump to get players of Championship quality is expensive; I don’t think people outside football quite realise just how wide the gulf is.”

“We’ve always tried to make sure the culture in the club is right, and I think that’s key – no superstars, no egos in the dressing room – and we’ve got to try and get that balance right again. You always need extra quality when you go up a level to make sure the right people come into the building.”

There have been other rich clubs with big ambitions in the English lower leagues. Not so long ago, the spotlight was brightest on Salford City and the Class of ’92 who wanted to push the club up the pyramid. Salford, however, only ever made it as far as League Two before stalling in their development. Wrexham have quickly, and easily, surpassed them.

From the moment Reynolds and McElhenney bought Wrexham, they have done things differently. The idea to produce a documentary series around the club had been done before, but not like they did it. Rather than focusing on the actual football, ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ made people like the local pub landlord central characters in the story.

Even as the team surged through the divisions, the town of Wrexham has remained the most compelling thing about the whole project. This is, after all, a part of the world that was left behind in the post-industrial age. Now, Wrexham has something to be proud of. Something that represents them on the global stage.

There is no global stage higher than the Premier League, and that’s where Wrexham picture themselves. More investment will be required to get there, but the historic Welsh club has put in place the foundations to rise even higher. Their transfer record until this point has been good. While the Wrexham story has been streamed to the world, there is a well-run football club at the centre of it. 

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