Wrexham’s rise through the football pyramid has meant that the club has received more attention than they have been used to.
Phil Parkinson will lead his side into battle against Southampton in the club’s first match at Championship level for 43 years.
Whilst much of the focus this summer has been bringing in quality players to compete at the level, Wrexham are now faced with the task of moving players on.
During the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, only a nominal amount of money has been recouped in player sales, most of the departures have been players released from their contracts.
However, as Wrexham continue to improve their squad, some players may start to gain interest from the Premier League and the Red Dragons could have multi-million pound decisions to make.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney would turn down Premier League approach for Max Cleworth
Speaking on the latest episode of the ‘Fozcast’ with former Red Dragons’ goalkeeper Ben Foster, chief executive officer Michael Williamson has revealed the owners’ stance on selling their star players in the future.
Wrexham’s ultimate goal is to reach the Premier League but as they continue to win football matches and gain interest, they are likely to be the subject of bids for their star players.
Foster posed the question to Williamson about what would happen if a Premier League club offered £15m for defender Max Cleworth.
Cleworth has been labelled ‘tremendous’ by Shaun Harvey and tipped to play in the top division, but Williamson’s answer was emphatic.
Williamson explained: “This is hard because I know what our answer would be and I know what Rob [McElhenney] and Ryan [Reynolds] would say without even having to ask them. The answer is no.
“He’s not available. He’s not for sale. But the issue is, what does Max want? That’s the hard part because when you take a step back, we would say absolutely not but then I also know who we are as a club and how we support players.
“Rob and Ryan really care about the players as individuals and as people, so in situations like that my feeling is hypothetically it would probably come down to what would the player want.”
What other Wrexham players could join Max Cleworth in the Premier League?
James McClean and Conor Coady have already enjoyed successful spells in the Premier League during their time, however, both are now entering the twilight of their careers.
Cleworth has been tipped to make the step up in the future and many people believe that new signing Lewis O’Brien is also of Premier League quality.
Lewis Brunt is another player that many have their eye on to see how he develops in the Championship this season, with a view that he could play at a higher level.
Wrexham will have the eyes of the world on them this season to see how they fare in the second tier and who knows, these players could even make the step up to the Premier League with the Red Dragons next year.