Man City star Kevin De Bruyne was linked with a surprise move to Wrexham following their promotion from the Championship, and a senior club official has now discussed the connection
The likelihood of Kevin De Bruyne making a sensational move to Wrexham has been made crystal clear by a senior club official. No sooner had the Red Dragons confirmed promotion from League One in April, than speculation began about potential summer transfer targets.
Manchester City star De Bruyne was one of the big names surprisingly linked in the immediate aftermath of achieving their third successive promotion. Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson is expected to be well-backed by the club's Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney during the transfer window.
The two actors have ambitions of taking the Welsh side all the way to the Premier League, but may need to bring in new recruits to be competitive in the Championship. De Bruyne is on the look out for a new team after City confirmed they would not be offering the midfielder a new deal.
However, Les Reed, an advisor to Wrexham's board, has now confirmed that the 33-year-old would be well out of the club's reach financially. The former FA technical director said teams in the Saudi Pro League and MLS were more likely to be able to afford De Bruyne's wage demands.
Speaking to the i Paper, Reed said: "I think we were linked with Kevin De Bruyne at one stage [but] there is a certain level of Premier League player who, if they are on £100k to 150k-a-week, are still going to get close to that if they move to the MLS or Saudi Arabia than if they go to Wrexham."
Reed described the club's transfer budget as "decent" but not unlimited after highlighting the significant amount of revenue generated under Reynolds and McElhenney's ownership. He also said the club would be looking to reduce the average age of the squad after dismissing the notion of it being a retirement home for senior pros.
"In the Championship, they [new signings] will need to be athletic. It's not swansong land for players who are having one more go before they retire," said Reed. "Our ambition will be to drive the average age down, but at the same time remain competitive."
While Wrexham might not be able to afford the likes of De Bruyne, Reed said they would remain ambitious in terms of trying to compete at the top end of the second tier.
"We are definitely aiming high and we mustn't lose that aspiration and momentum," he said. "We’re not by any means predicting that we’re going to go [straight] to the Premier League, but we don't just want to go, 'Okay, the journey is over, we're in the Championship, let's stabilise and consolidate.'
"We need to get through this window with some good recruitment and establish ourselves, not as a survivor, but as a challenger, i.e. in a good season, could we get into the play-offs? We would love to break that record [of four straight promotions] and, given the circumstances, we'll give it our best shot."
Another player who has been linked with a move to Wrexham is Tottenham's Ben Davies. But former Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has urged the defender to resist dropping down the divisions.
He told BoyleSports: "To Ben Davies I'd say that you should stay as high as you could for as long as you can. He's played quite regularly at Spurs this year and he's still in the national team and doing exceptionally well for them.
"I think Craig Bellamy relies on him quite a bit as well with his experience. So I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to jump out of the Premier League at the moment."