**Wrexham Set Sights on Former England Defender as Premier League Dream Gains Momentum**
Wrexham AFC, the ambitious North Wales football club backed by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are reportedly looking to make a significant statement in the transfer market as they aspire to make historic progress through the English football pyramid. Reports suggest that Wrexham are targeting former England international Conor Coady, currently with Leicester City, as a way to bolster their defence and reinforce their commitment to reaching the Premier League — a milestone the club’s celebrity owners are believed to have set their sights on achieving by 2027.
Conor Coady, aged 32, boasts an extensive CV in English football, totalling nearly 200 Premier League appearances for sides including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton and Leicester. Although he remains contracted to Leicester for another 11 months, speculation has swelled that the experienced centre-back could be seeking a new challenge this summer, with Wrexham now emerging as serious contenders for his signature. Scottish giants Rangers have also previously been linked with the defender, but Wrexham’s interest is now drawing significant attention.
The club has enjoyed an astonishing period of success since Reynolds and McElhenney took over, earning promotion for three consecutive seasons and recently sealing their place in the Championship. This meteoric rise, quite unlike any seen in recent English football memory, is partly credited to the investment, energetic support, and global attention brought by their famous owners, further galvanised by the widespread popularity of the Disney+ documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
Wrexham’s transfer market activity this summer already hints at the size of their ambitions. After automatic promotion from League One, the club twice broke its transfer fee record, landing Empoli’s Liberato Cacace before a further significant outlay on Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien — a transfer reportedly worth up to £5 million. Now, whispers of a potential £7.5 million bid for Ipswich Town and Wales forward Nathan Broadhead indicate that the Red Dragons’ spending spree is far from over.
Both Reynolds and McElhenney have made little secret of their long-term vision for Wrexham, with the footballing world abuzz at their reported determination to steer the club into the Premier League within the next two years. While such aims might once have seemed fanciful for a side that only recently escaped non-league obscurity, their remarkable trajectory and recent recruitment suggest Wrexham’s ambitions are no longer just Hollywood fantasy.
Manager Phil Parkinson, who has overseen much of the club’s recent progress, is thought to be a key figure in efforts to complete the Coady transfer ahead of a return to the Championship — and the club’s first campaign at that level in over four decades. Speaking to BBC Sport Wales, Parkinson expressed his desire to finalise squad additions before the new season starts against Southampton, but indicated that the club’s recruitment drive may well continue through the transfer window.
Should Coady join Wrexham, he would likely form an experienced back three alongside current defensive talents Max Cleworth and Lewis Brunt, both in their early to mid-twenties. Given Coady’s leadership pedigree — including guiding Wolves to two consecutive seventh-place finishes and a Europa League quarter-final — his arrival could prove transformative for Wrexham’s promotion hopes.
Bookmakers currently have Wrexham as ninth favourites to make the leap to the Premier League from the Championship, but the club’s upward momentum and ambitious transfer targets suggest they could defy such odds. Off the pitch, the continued coverage provided by the acclaimed ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary and a devoted fanbase extending far beyond North Wales contribute to an overwhelming sense of optimism and anticipation around the Racecourse Ground.
As the new season draws near, all eyes will be on Wrexham to see if they can continue their extraordinary adventure — and whether a player of Coady’s stature might soon be donning the famous red shirt as Reynolds and McElhenney’s dream edges closer to reality.