Wrexham’s Hollywood owners have been presented with the bizarre idea of pursuing Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling.
Manager Dean Saunders has proposed a very ambitious move to Hollywood’s Wrexham owners in a bid to secure the signature of Raheem Sterling. The former Premier League striker and former Wrexham manager suggested Chelsea’s star player could fall into the Championship following the club’s rise under actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mack.
The outlandish proposal comes as Sterling’s club career is at a crossroads after a dramatic fall down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge. The former Liverpool and Manchester City forward joined Chelsea in 2022 in a £47.5m deal, but had a disappointing loan spell at Arsenal last season.
Since his return, he has been left out of coach Enzo Maresca’s squad and has not featured in a single competitive game. Therefore, there is a possibility that he could leave West London in the winter transfer window.
Saunders believes a move to Wrexham, which currently sits 10th in the Championship table, could be justified given the global appeal generated by the successful documentary Welcome to Wrexham. His offer came despite the winger’s astronomical salary of around £325,000 a week, an amount that even Hollywood duos would balk at.
Saunders told Boyle Sports: “Raheem Sterling going to Wrexham? Why not? There might be some big players who have seen this documentary and they’ll think, ‘Let’s give it a shot. Wrexham, I want to play for them’.”
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“Someone like Raheem Sterling might say that. I don’t understand his situation. What’s going on? He’s not over the peak. He’s a very good player.”
Despite putting forward the idea of Sterling moving to North Wales, Saunders warned that the Championship could be a tough league, even for former top-flight players.
He said: “It’s not easy to play in the Championship. I’ve managed to play in the Championship but sometimes Premier League players come down to the Championship and play and they can’t believe what’s going on.”
“We’re always playing and every game is a battle. Millwall are away on Tuesday night. Some players find it difficult when the ball is up in the air all night.”
Saunders, who managed Wrexham from 2008 to 2011 when they were still in the National League, insists he always felt the club had the potential to rise through the divisions with the right investment. He praised manager Phil Parkinson, who spent £33 million in the summer transfer window, for giving Reynolds and Mack the tools to succeed.
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Wrexham AFC are currently the fastest growing club in the world thanks to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny.
The success of the Disney+ documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ has seen the Dragons achieve their third successive promotion and have been cheered on by audiences from across North Wales and around the world.
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He said: “I always thought that if we could get Wrexham back into the league, our team would be better than most teams in League Two. We thought we could go to the Championship, but we’ll be competing with three Premier League teams who have just been relegated.”
“I thought that might be the difficult part because you have to put your hands in your pockets to play in the championship. And to be fair, they do. I’ve heard how much some of the players are making now.”
“They signed Josh Windass, Nathan Broadhead, Kieffer Moore. They can play at that level every day and all day and have an impact most weeks. Fair play to the coach because they were relentless in turning guys over and keeping the momentum going.”
He added: “I would be very happy if Wrexham could get into the Premier League, because they’re a great club. They have great supporters and there’s a huge attracting area around Wrexham.”
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