Will Wrexham get promoted again? Where Ryan Reynolds’ team stands entering transfer window

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have transformed Wrexham since taking the club over three years ago, with a second successive promotion targeted by the Red Dragons

Wrexham’s Hollywood owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are aiming for consecutive promotions as the team presently sits second in League Two.

Deadpool actor Reynolds and McElhenney, who is well-known for writing and starring in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” teamed up to buy Wrexham for £2.25 million back in November 2020. Thanks to the attention their platforms have brought to the club and region—most notably through the well-liked Disney+ documentary “Welcome to Wrexham”—the two have come to represent Welsh football globally.

The Red Dragons won the National League championship to guarantee their promotion to League Two after 15 years away from the football field. Wrexham added a number of players to strengthen the team in anticipation of future promotions from their celebrity owners.

Wrexham is now in second place over Christmas and in one of the three automatic promotion spots after defeating Swindon Town 1-0 on Boxing Day. Despite playing an extra game, Wrexham is only four points behind Stockport County, who are now atop the table.

Mansfield Town, however, has a game in hand over the Red Dragons and is only one point behind Wrexham. In a close race for promotion, Barrow, in fourth place, is two points behind Wrexham despite having played the same number of games as the Welsh team.

Prior to their massive New Year’s Day matchup with Barrow, Wrexham takes on lower-midtable Walsall. If Wrexham wins those games and Stockport loses to Bradford City and Mansfield, they might finish first in the league come January 1.

The difference between fourth and fifth place in League Two is five points, largely due to Crewe Alexandra and Notts County’s recent poor record. Wrexham may need to make a move to ensure they are not the odd side out in the four-team battle for the three automatic promotion spots, which is starting to take shape.

Since taking over in the summer of 2021, Phil Parkinson, the manager of Wrexham, has completely restructured the team. The club has made a number of high-profile acquisitions thanks to Reynolds and McElhenney’s support, and more might be announced in January.

Eoghan O’Connell from Charlton Athletic came on deadline day in January of last year. Parkinson anticipates a comparable uptick in support for next month.

The 56-year-old told The Leader, “I don’t want to make any predictions for January – in terms of incoming players.” Although we have a solid team, we are constantly searching. We are constantly looking to improve, as our supporters are aware, and we are now evaluating a number of problems, but we are keeping things under wraps.

On New Year’s Day, the window opens at midnight, and on January 31, it slams shut at 11 p.m. “We are just assessing the squad as we go along,” Parkinson continued.

“After January 1st, we will be able to add those individuals back into the team because the 22-man squad regulation does not apply until January. We have guys returning from injuries and other players who haven’t even been included in the 22-man roster.

“We’re just keeping an eye on (Steven Fletcher) following his knee surgery, monitoring Ryan Barnett’s recovery from knee ligament damage, and examining our options for January.” I am excited to see players return to the group.