The Championship’s biggest clubs will be looking nervously over their shoulders at two of the clubs coming up from League One.
Wrexham and Birmingham City were promoted automatically in second and first respectively and are going up with big plans and deep pockets.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney aren’t doing it alone in North Wales. The Wrexham co-owners secured the investment and involvement of the extremely wealthy Allyn family, bolstering their ability to survive and thrive after three successive promotions.
The speed of that rise would not be sustainable in ordinary circumstances – it might yet prove unsustainable even now – but the Wrexham owners have enough understanding of their situation to know they need to think much bigger to even stay in the Championship, never mind go one better.
Wrexham’s transfer business is at the epicentre of lots of speculation as the summer transfer window approaches and some big names have been linked as the Red Dragons look to up the ante.
Jamie Vardy, who bows out at Leicester City on Sunday, is one of them. Long-time Fulham captain Tom Cairney is another.
There’s been no official confirmation that Cairney is to leave the Cottagers after ten years in West London but the club has announced other contract extensions and media reports indicate that the 34-year-old will depart at the end of his contract next month.
According to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook, Wrexham are keen and could part with a cool £50,000 per week to get their man.
That’s a serious amount of money for a club that were in the National League two seasons ago and fans of rival clubs have weighed in on social media.
Tom Cairney is club captain of Fulham (Image: Getty)
“Are you having a laugh?” asked one fan on X, formerly Twitter.
“How can that level of wages be good for the game in the [Championship]?” asked another.
“I thought Wrexham were not going to be paying silly money and fees. That’s crazy,” noted another fan.
One poster cut to the quick with a warning: “They will learn the hard way of paying big salaries for average players.”
Cairney is a hugely admired figure at Fulham. He has played more than 300 league games for the Craven Cottage outfit and scored the winning goal in a Championship play-off final.
But the Scotland international has been used sparingly in the Premier League this season and will move on as a legend.
