Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney facing 'big problem' if Wrexham fail to earn promotion to Championship despite 'smart business' in transfer market

Wrexham are bidding for promotion to the Championship this season after making it out of the National League and into League One since McElhenney and Reynolds arrived at the club in 2021. Phil Parkinson's side are currently in third place in the standings behind Wycombe Wanderers and leaders Birmingham City.

Wrexham's Hollywood owners have been happy to splash the cash since their takeover and invested in the squad again in January by bringing in Sam Smith for a club-record fee as well as former England international Jay Rodriguez. Football finance expert Dr Rob Wilson feels Wrexham have done some smart business but has explained the club must back it up with promotion to the Championship.

Wilson told Grosvenor Sport: "If Wrexham want to spend they can spend. You've of course got the regulatory processes that limit League One clubs and Birmingham, if they haven't exceeded it already, they'll be right up against the limits. I think Wrexham have behaved in a way that you would expect a team that's really trying to get that automatic promotion spot to have behaved. You end up with the opportunity cost of the acquisition. So if your nearest competitors aren't looking to sign players and you do, that two million transaction suddenly becomes a four, five, six million transaction because they haven't acquired. So you pull away from them. I think that's what we saw with Wrexham. It looks like smart business that should guarantee that promotion spot and it will be fascinating for us to get the accounts when they're due to see how close or how much they've exceeded the regulatory position and of course if they stay put then it causes them a much bigger problem later down the line."

Wrexham are back in action later on Tuesday against Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Trophy, while leaders Birmingham face Cambridge United in a big night of League One action.