Wrexham is halfway to the Premier League under Ryan Reynolds. Expect things to get much tougher now

Wrexham is at the halfway stage of its unlikely journey toward the Premier League.

Next stop: League One.

Hot off a successful preseason tour to the west coast of the United States, the Welsh club co-owned by actor Ryan Reynolds begins its domestic season on Saturday with a home match against Wycombe Wanderers in the third tier of English soccer.

Wrexham hasn't played at this level for 19 years, a sign of the progress made by the team since it was bought by Reynolds and another actor, Rob McElhenney, for $2.5 million in 2021.

Another sign is the success of “Welcome to Wrexham” — the Emmy Award-winning, fly-on-the-wall documentary chronicling the Hollywood stars' first foray into soccer ownership that is into a third season, with the promise of a fourth.

Another is the sight of up to 35,000 spectators flocking to watch Wrexham's exhibition matches on its North American tour, which started in California with draws against Premier League teams Chelsea (2-2) and Bournemouth (1-1) and ended in Reynolds' home town of Vancouver. Wrexham beat Vancouver Whitecaps 4-1, with Reynolds in attendance soon after a whirlwind press tour for the movie “Deadpool & Wolverine."

It was telling that, in announcing its four-year deal to show matches from the English Football League (the three divisions below the Premier League), American broadcaster CBS Sports prioritized the attraction of Wrexham.

“How to watch Wrexham, Burnley, Leeds and Americans,” CBS stated in its statement.

Indeed, eyes from around the world are now on the team known as the Dragons, especially after back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One, which features eight clubs to have previously played in the Premier League — Barnsley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Charlton, Huddersfield, Reading and Wigan.

It's the Premier League, the most popular soccer league in the world, where Reynolds and McElhenney want to take Wrexham.

The really hard work starts here, though.

“There’s some huge clubs who’ve spent an awful lot of money already in this transfer window," Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said, "whereas last year, we went to grounds and everybody wanted to beat us.

“We were the big team coming into town. It’s going to be different."

Take Birmingham, a club which counts NFL great Tom Brady among its minority owners and has spent more than 10 million pounds ($12.75 million) on players this summer in its bid to return to the second-tier Championship.

Wrexham has signed five players, including three from the Premier League in Seb Revan (Aston Villa) Lewis Brunt (Leicester) and goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo (Arsenal).

George Dobson has arrived from Charlton, now a League One rival, and he has already noticed the Reynolds effect.

“(The owners) genuinely care a lot about every person,” Dobson told British newspaper The Daily Mirror. "The boys have all said they’re very interactive. Some owners are like that and some aren’t. But they are so invested in not just the club but the whole area, too.”

After the team's sudden rise, consolidation might be the key for Wrexham this season

“We’re probably not the big team in the league anymore going into it, but I think that’s OK," Wrexham defender Eoghan O'Connell said. "We’re happy to kind of have the underdog tag.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer