Next season will mark a triumphant return to the second tier for Wrexham, but there’s one thing that every other team in the Championship can boast that the Red Dragons cannot.
Against all the odds, Wrexham were able to secure the runner-up spot in League One this season and clinch a third-successive promotion.
That’s something no club in the EFL has ever achieved before, and it returns Wrexham to the second tier for the first time in 43 years.
While Phil Parkinson’s men will be gearing up for their impending assault on the Championship, there is one very specific achievement the Red Dragons cannot claim just yet.
Every other team in the Championship has tasted top flight football
Turns out, of all the 24 clubs competing in the Championship in 2025/26, Wrexham are going to be the only team that have never played in the English top flight in their history.
We know very well that teams like Sheffield United, Norwich City, Watford, and West Brom have all been in the Premier League recently. Likewise, the recent relegation of Southampton, Leicester City, and Ipswich leaves their top flight history in no doubt.
Even teams like Swansea, Stoke City, Hull City, and QPR have all been in the top division within the last decade. Likewise, Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth, Derby, and Coventry City have all graced the Premier League this side of the millennium.
| Club | Last time in top tier |
| Birmingham City | 2010/11 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 2011/12 |
| Bristol City | 1979/80 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2006/07 |
| Coventry City | 2000/01 |
| Derby County | 2007/08 |
| Hull City | 2016/17 |
| Ipswich Town | 2024/25 |
| Leicester City | 2024/25 |
| Middlesbrough | 2016/17 |
| Millwall | 1988/89 |
| Norwich City | 2021/22 |
| Oxford United | 1987/88 |
| Portsmouth | 2009/10 |
| Preston North End | 1960/61 |
| QPR | 2014/15 |
| Sheffield United | 2023/24 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1999/00 |
| Southampton | 2024/25 |
| Stoke City | 2017/18 |
| Swansea City | 2017/18 |
| Watford | 2021/22 |
| West Brom | 2020/21 |
| Wrexham | Never |
However, there are still plenty of surprises among this statistic. We had to dig pretty far back into the history books to find the last time the likes of Oxford United, Millwall, Preston North End, and Bristol City were in the top flight.
Interestingly, there will be three teams Wrexham have never faced in the league before when the fixture list comes out for next season. West Brom, Ipswich, and Middlesbrough have never met the Red Dragons aside from the odd cup game over the years.
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Wrexham’s ambitions for 2025/26 campaign
Naturally, Wrexham will not enjoy being the odd one out in the second tier next season, and we already know they will be doing everything they can to escape and make it to the Premier League as soon as possible.
Ryan Reynolds expects a rollercoaster ride of a season next term, but an ‘aggressive’ spending plan for the summer may well help to make it a successful one, too.
Wrexham will look to the likes of Norwich and Ipswich, who previously won back-to-back promotions from League One and then the Championship in recent years.
Phil Parkinson’s Championship record is not the best, but he too will be eager to put that right this season. Surely, Wrexham can’t make it four in a row, though, can they? It’ll be fun to watch them try.