‘It’s Ryan Reynolds!’ - Why Steven Fletcher couldn't ‘say no’ to Wrexham & how it took just four hours for veteran striker to join Hollywood project in North Wales

The veteran striker became another marquee addition at StoK Racecourse during the summer of 2023, with the 36-year-old former Scotland international heading to North Wales after severing ties with Dundee United. Fletcher did not take much persuading to join the project being pieced together by Hollywood stars Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Fletcher has told BBC 5 Live: “Obviously when Ryan called me it did help, I'm not going to lie. It's Ryan Reynolds, how could you say no? I had the conversation, it was quite short to be honest with you. It was just 'we'd love to have you here and be a part of the club'. I had already made up my mind to be honest, but it did give me a little confidence boost to say 'yeah, go on then’.”

Fletcher added on seeing an exciting move pushed through: “I needed something to give me a bit of a buzz because I'm not going to lie, after last season, it was a tough season. It put a bit of a downer on things and I was thinking do I want to go back? I moved my family back to Scotland and it was one of those things where I was thinking do I hang up now and spend a bit of family time? When this call came, I think wife could see a little buzz in me and she said 'I can see you want to go and do this'. I thought, you know what, 'I'm going to go for it'. I literally had the phone call, four hours later and I was down there.”

Fletcher has suffered a knee injury while at Wrexham that required surgery, but he netted his first hat-trick for the club in a 4-1 victory over Barrow. He said on making a dream start to 2024 and buying into what the Red Dragons are all about: “It's crazy how the club has come from where it's come. Obviously the owners are a big part of that, but the players and the staff, they've all been great, the fans as well. It's a bit surreal to be honest with you the way it is every day, seeing Rob and Ryan just walking around. It's been great and obviously at my age as well, it's a great thing to be a part of.”

Wrexham remain third in the League Two table, as they target back-to-back promotions, and are now just two points adrift of leaders Stockport as they look to wrap up a top-three finish that will move them up into the third tier and a step closer to the Premier League Promised Land.