by Wrexham executive director Humphrey Ker insists ‘the sky is the limit’ for the newly promoted Hollywood-owned club and says the English Football League’s spending limits won’t limit their ambitions.
Heavy investment from players Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who bought the Welsh club in February 2021, was crucial as Wrexham lifted the National League on Saturday and ended a 15-year absence from the EFL.
Reynolds and McElhenney were at the racecourse to witness the 3-1 win over Boreham Wood and the pair – who have reportedly already spent more than £10m refurbishing the club from top to bottom – have pledged their continued support financial.
“We believe the sky is the limit for Wrexham,” said Ker. “You look at the crowds we’ve had at the stadium all season, the crowds that were outside the stadium (Saturday), people couldn’t get a ticket.
“They just wanted to be in the city, close to the stadium, close to the action.
“Last I checked our full time ad (video) had 15 million views on Twitter. The interest in this club is astronomical and we believe that with the squad we have at the moment we have a very strong chance to move up next year.
“It gets harder to go further up the pyramid, but we have real faith and trust in the people we have in the football team to take us in the right direction.
“We want to do it again. We want to throw these parties next year and as many subsequent summers as we can manage.
EFL salary caps for Leagues One and Two were agreed by third and fourth tier clubs in August 2020 following pressure on revenues from the coronavirus pandemic.
But the salary caps – set at £2.5m per club in League One and £1.5m per club in League Two – were withdrawn following a decision by an independent arbitration panel the following February.
The EFL has reverted to previous salary cost management protocols, a control mechanism linked to the turnover of each individual club.
League Two clubs can spend up to 50% of their turnover on expenses related to players aged 21 and over and Wrexham, which has blue-chip sponsors such as TikTok, Expedia and Aviation American Gin, is in a strong position to benefit from that situation.
Ker told BBC Wales: ‘Existing spending limits are tied to your income.
“What you can’t have are rich landlords who come in and pay massively over the odds and operate at gigantic losses.
“We actually generate an extraordinary amount of revenue due to interest in the team, merchandising and other things.
“We’re not losing too much sleep over this (spending limits). I think we’ll be well within the bounds of what we’re allowed to spend.”
On strengthening manager Phil Parkinson’s squad this summer, Ker added: “This is a team that beat Coventry and guided Sheffield United to two games in the FA Cup.
“We have accumulated a record number of points in the National League and we think we are ready to go again with some small changes.
“Our mission will always be to try and get the best possible players for every situation.
“We have previously had to pay a little more to get people down to the National League because of the stigma that exists on non-league or conference football. As we go up, I think we’ll have less difficulty attracting people.
“I know that Phil and Les Reed, who have also helped us on a recruiting side, are inundated with incoming calls from players because this is a place where people want to come and play football.”
