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Wrexham have been backed to continue their fairy tale rise up the EFL by reaching the Championship play-offs this season. The Red Dragons are one division away from the Premier League having secured an unprecedented three-straight promotions. Since being taken over by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mc Elhenney, they have well and truly brought Hollywood to Wales. Wrexham are preparing for life in the second tier for the first time since the 1981/82 season after finishing runners-up in League One. The Welsh outfit have been busy in the transfer market this summer, having broken their club record twice already, and they're closing in on doing it again, with Ipswich's Nathan Broadhead set to sign for a whopping £7. 5million. Phil Parkinson has recruited seven new faces, having splashed around £10m so far, while 12 players have been shown the exit door. Wrexham, who get their campaign underway against Southampton this weekend, live on talk SPORT, have been predicted to be embroiled in a relegation battle by a Championship supercomputer. Thankfully for fans, there's no AI substitute for our four best EFL presenters - none of whom are backing the club to be near the drop. Three of the pack have not ruled out a historic fourth promotion, with a backdoor route through the play-offs proving particularly popular. Former Arsenal man Adrian Clarke, who played at every level from the top-flight to the Conference South, former Championship superstar Darren Ambrose, the vastly experienced 18-club striker Chris Iwelumo, and talk SPORT’s encyclopaedic commentator Ian Danter have assessed the state of play for Wrexham this season. Danter: "Potentially. Their run to this point has been quite outstanding, and they’ve got so much name quality throughout the squad. "In Ryan Barnett, they’ve got one of the best crossers of the ball, and the acquisition of players like Lewis O’Brien is really exciting. " Clarke: "Eventually, they can, but this season? I think it’s certainly a year too early. "They’ve made so much progress in a short space of time, but I just don’t think their current squad has enough Championship quality. "Their style of play will make them difficult to play against, but I don’t think it’s going to be as effective as it was in League One and Two. " Ambrose: "All I’d say is - don’t rule it out. We know what kind of club it is; it’s a Hollywood club, and they’ve had some fantastic times over the years. "This is going to be their biggest challenge yet, but I’ve played under Phil Parkinson,  and he’s a very driven individual who wants to succeed. " Danter: "It won’t be straightforward at all, but I see play-offs, if not automatic promotion. " Clarke: "For me, they should be targeting a mid-table finish. " Ambrose: "I can see them making the play-offs, and if they get there, who knows? I’m really looking forward to seeing them this season. " Iwelumo: "I know Phil Parkinson very, very well. He has six promotions in his managerial career so far, and I feel he’s got the right temperament to get the best out of these players. "They’ve recruited well and brought in some very good Championship players, but they’ve already got very good players there too, which I think will go a massive way. "It’s going to be a hard challenge, but if they do go up, it will be through the play-offs, in my opinion. " Wrexham are 7/1 favourites to win Championship promotion, while they are 5/2 to secure a top-six finish with talk SPORT BET. Wrexham are using their Hollywood pull to have a real go at competing in the Championship this season. They have already brought in Liberato Cacace and Lewis O'Brien, with both deals breaking their old transfer record. Ex-Nottingham Forest midfielder, O'Brien, cost just below £3m, with Cacace joining from Serie A in a deal worth around £4m. Wrexham's latest moves have seen Conor Coady leave Leicester and Kieffer Moore join from Sheffield United in deals worth £2million each. George Thomason has arrived from Bolton for over £1m too, following striker Ryan Hardie through the door. On top of that, a couple of free transfers have been scooped up,  seeing Josh Windass and Danny Ward join the club. © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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