Category: Wrexham

Wrexham Releases Long-Time Captain, Beloved Documentary Star in Roster Turnover
3 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Wrexham Releases Long-Time Captain, Beloved Documentary Star in Roster Turnover

Wrexham is bound for League One next season after securing promotion for the second straight year. The jump up will be significant for the League Two runners-up, so plenty of roster turnover was expected this offseason.

On Friday, the club announced it had released a significant group of players, including a few fan favorites.

Midfielder Luke Young has been Wrexham's captain since the 2021-22 season, the first in which Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over as co-chairmen of the club. He was a big part of the club's ascent from the National League back into the EFL and then again to League One. His role with the club diminished this season, as he only played in 25 league matches (12 starts) after appearing in 35 or more in each of his five seasons with the club.

Goalkeeper Rob Lainton was also among those released. The 34-year-old became a fan favorite in the documentary Welcome to Wrexham, as he battled repeated serious injuries. After becoming one of the National League's best keepers during the 2021-22 campaign, he suffered a wrist fracture and dislocation late in the season. He only made six appearances during the 2022-23 season as he recovered, then suffered a knee ligament injury late in the year. He was on the roster but didn't make an appearance during the 2023-24 campaign. Overall he made 132 total appearances for Wrexham in six seasons.

Other notable names released were defender, vice-captain and long-throw specialist Ben Tozer and defender Aaron Hayden. The 34-year-old Tozer made 29 appearances in League Two action this season and has 136 caps in three seasons with the club. Hayden was also featured in the documentary, joining the club in 2021. He appeared in 16 league matches this season.

Automatic contract extensions kicked in for James McClean, while forward Steven Fletcher, keeper Mark Howard and defender Aaron James and academy player Harry Dean have all been offered new contracts. The club also announced it would exercise contract options for Harry Ashfield, Callum Edwards, Liam Hall and James Rainbird.

Moving forward, the backbone of Wrexham's squad will continue to consist of McClean, strikers Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer, and midfielders Elliott Lee and Andy Cannon.

The jump from League Two to League One is significant, which means a lot of turnover is expected for Wrexham this offseason. A number of key players could be brought in when the EFL's summer transfer window opens on June 10.

League One, Soccer, Wrexham
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Wrexham's Hollywood Owners Front Up About Significant Financial Losses
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Wrexham’s Hollywood Owners Front Up About Significant Financial Losses

Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney opened up to The Mirror about just how much money they've lost since purchasing the Welsh club.

The Hollywood duo bought Wrexham bought Wrexham in Nov. 2020 for $2.5 million. The Welsh club has gained popularity all over the world thanks to the Welcome to Wrexham docuseries on FX. Wrexham recently achieved a second successive promotion moving up to EFL League One, the third tier of the English system.

The third season of Welcome to Wrexham debuts Thursday, May. 2 on FX and will chronicle this year's season which, knowing the outcome, should have fans excited. Though, Reynolds and McElhenney recently opened up about the finances behind the scenes since purchasing the club.

"You want to know, like how far in the red I am? It's pretty significant. It's true that in the beginning when we asked our advisors if this was a good economic investment, there was not one person that I can remember that was like, 'Yes.' It was more like, 'Don't,'" McElhenney said to The Mirror.

Reynolds reiterated that the duo were never in it to make money. "I think we recognize how lucky we are that we can be in this position where it isn't about making money or any of those things. I mean, you have to be in a pretty privileged spot to be able to do this, to begin with. But eventually, you know, as we climb up the leagues, we're going to need outside help in order to sustain this club."

Reynolds and McElhenney also recently purchased a stake in Liga MX's Club Nexaca which has a host of celebrity investors including Eva Longoria, Odell Beckham Jr, Justin Verlander and Kate Upton.

Rob McElhenney, Ryan Reynolds, SI, Soc, Soccer, Wrexham
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How Quickly Wrexham Hope to Achieve Promotion to Premier League
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

How Quickly Wrexham Hope to Achieve Promotion to Premier League

Wrexham's executive director Humphrey Ker had admitted the club hope to achieve promotion to the Premier League "sort of as quickly as possible".

The Red Dragons recently booked their place in League One, securing back-to-back promotions after a whirlwind first season back in the English Football League.

All eyes are on Wrexham because of the worldwide fame and wealth of co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, whose involvement with the Welsh club stemmed from Ker being instructed by the duo to look for a historic football club to purchase.

Many believe Wrexham can quickly build on their success and continue working up the English football pyramid, and Ker didn't downplay the club's aspirations in an interview with The Independent.

"Sort of as quickly as possible," he replied when asked for a projected timeline of reaching the Premier League. Whilst being mindful of those challenges I was just talking about, with facilities and infrastructure.

"Our commercial department is very strong and we make huge amounts of money from selling shirts off the back of the documentary and from sponsorship. All that's very, very strong but it's also quite fragile because we don't have a big operation behind it."

Ker did attempt to manage expectations, however, stating that immediate promotion to the Championship may be a bridge too far regardless of the club's pulling power and rapidly increasing reputation.

"I think promotion would be a real push," he said. "I think we've often talked about the idea that it takes three transfer windows to really build a squad into what you need to compete in any one division and next season will be one window shorter than that.

"But I think the core of this team is very strong. They’re very strong personalities, good players and they love each other, so that's a great basis to build from. We'll be adding players in the summer and sadly saying goodbye to one or two, which is sort of just the nature of football, and then we'll sort of see where we wind up.

"Inside the building, we're like, ‘look, our objective is get up and stay up, stabilise and build a good platform and go again the following year.’ But stranger things than promotion have happened – we might go through the division again.

"To be honest, that would probably be too fast for us. It wouldn't actually be that good for the club as a whole if we did go all the way through this year because we'd just be going so quickly. Then we’d be trying to catch up with infrastructure and our facilities and everything would be a big, big challenge. So I think something nice and comfortable – upper mid-table, please! Tenth. I'd be very happy with that."

READ NEXT - 'Welcome to Wrexham' Season 3 Trailer Will Give You Goosebumps

SI, Soccer, Wrexham
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