Wrexham v Birmingham: The Premier League’s most expensive clash, live on Sky Sports | Football news
Before the arrival of the two Hollywood stars and the NFL legend, the only notable history shared between Wrexham and Birmingham was the £1m the Blues paid for Bryan Hughes in 1997, which remains the record fee for a Welsh side transfer.
Wrexham, owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are now in a promotion battle with leaders Birmingham, who are fueled by funds from American businessman Tom Wagner and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.
Jay Stansfield’s brace helped Birmingham to a convincing win over Wrexham at St Andrew’s in September, but with five points separating the two sides, the importance of the second leg is even greater.
Celebrities are expected to be back in the stands at the Racecourse Ground on Thursday night, live on Sky Sportsand there will be well-paid stars on the pitch for the most expensive League One match in history.
Recruitment for Wrexham progression planning
Wrexham won back-to-back promotions from the National League with expensive but smart recruitment. Since 2021, when Reynolds and McElhenney took over, their team’s value has increased nearly sixfold according to Transfermarkt.
Their success came from signing players from the higher leagues, building on the 2021-22 season, when they were still a non-league club, by adding 10 players from the EFL. The following summer, after missing out on the National League play-offs, they signed seven more.
“We’ve brought in players who are used to the expectation of winning,” said Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson Sky Sports. “At Wrexham there are expectations and you have to be able to deal with that.
“This is a different club to be at.”
Paul Mullin’s impact as one of those signings has been well documented, but strikers such as Ollie Palmer, who reportedly joined for £300,000, and Elliot Lee, three divisions down from Championship side Luton, continue to play a key role in their squad. rise.
Palmer has scored just 11 league goals in his last 64 appearances, but there’s a reason why Parkinson continues to play him. The 33-year-old is a battering ram who wears down opposition defences, connects play and is the ultimate team player. He lasted 90 minutes only twice this season.
Lee, a diminutive midfielder who started his career at West Ham, has a knack for scoring important goals, scoring 15 in his first season and then 16 last season. He has six this season, and five of them were wins.
There is also ex-Derby striker Jack Marriott and ex-Premier League duo Steven Fletcher and James McClean who were all signed before Wrexham hit the ball in League Two.
Wrexham invested again last summer, paying fees for five players, who have won five EFL promotions between them, to a reported total of £2m, including a reported club-record £500,000 for West Brom’s Mo Faal, who made just seven league appearances. this season.
Success is not cheap…
Wrexham lost £5.1 million during the 2022-2023 season, which ended with the club being promoted back to League Two. This means that in the first two full seasons under Reynolds and McElhenney the club lost over £8m. Accounts up to June 2024 will be published this spring.
The wage bill rose from £4.05m in the 2021-22 season to £6.9m when they won the National League title, while total turnover rose from £5.97m to £10.47m.
Influence on Welcome to Wrexham a documentary on the club’s global profile saw retail sales rise from £1.3m to £3.4m, with the club pocketing £2.58m of its total overseas revenue.
However, the eye-watering losses are predicted to fall now that the new ownership is in its fourth year. Turnover is said to have increased significantly over the past 12 months, with the club expecting total revenue to exceed £20m after securing lucrative sponsorship deals with United Airlines and SToK Coffee Brew.
Wrexham also welcomed the Allyn family, who made their fortune through Welch Allyn, the global medical equipment maker, as new minority investors in October.
Is Wrexham’s stadium big enough for the Championship?
The Racecourse Ground, where Thursday’s clash will take place, has a capacity of 13,341.
Wrexham’s average attendance has been 12,869 this season – the fifth highest in League One – with almost every game sold out. Their average total would put them third in the championship attendance table.
The club has plans to refurbish the 5,500 capacity Kop which was demolished in January 2023, having been unused and abandoned since 2007, and replaced with 3,000 temporary seats.
A new architect – Populous – who has worked on Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Principality Stadium, has been appointed to redesign the stand which was originally due to open in time for this season.
It will include provisions for safe standing, hospitality and accessible seating and will be fully compliant with UEFA’s category four stadium requirements with a target completion date of 2026. McElhenney spoke of increasing the capacity to 50,000.
A new era begins for Birmingham
While Wrexham have been building, Birmingham are rebuilding after relegation from the Championship. Their takeover in the summer of 2023 led to an unexpected setback that did not dampen their ambitions.
With a cash injection of £58m, the new owners plan to build a new stadium after buying 60 acres of land around a mile from St Andrew’s.
Birmingham showed their intent last summer as well, signing 13 first-team players for a reported total of £20m and breaking the League One transfer record by signing striker Stansfield for more than £15m from Fulham.
The 21-year-old striker was on loan at the club in the 2023/24 season, scoring 13 goals and registering three assists in all competitions, and in this period he scored 12 league goals in 21 appearances.
Alfie May, the League One Golden Boot winner last season, joined from Charlton for an undisclosed fee and has 10 goals, along with goalkeepers Ryan Allsop and Bailey Peacock-Farrell and one each from Celtic, Hearts and Rangers.
The Blues cashed in on academy product Jordan James, selling him for a reported £8m, with manager Chris Davies warning Wrexham that his side are more settled now than when they first met.
“We were a fledgling team at the time,” Davies said Sky Sports. – We have come a long way since then.
Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 14 games in all competitions, winning 12, following their shock defeat to Shrewsbury in the league.
But Davies ruled out Seung-Ho Paik and Willum Willumsson for the Wrexham meeting and is expected to be without midfielder Tomoki Iwata. The trio was a regular guest.
Wrexham, meanwhile, could be without McClean after he was involved in a car accident on his way to training on Wednesday morning.
The hosts were beaten at Shrewsbury last time out and have lost two of their last three, which meant they lost ground against Wycombe and Birmingham.
Something has to give.
Watch Wrexham v Birmingham live on Sky Sports Main Event and Football from 7pm on Thursday; start at 8 p.m
