Wrexham abandon genius transfer tactic that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney used to secure most important signing in history

Wrexham have punched above their weight in the transfer market, arming manager Phil Parkinson with a succession of teams capable of three successive promotions from the National League to the Championship.

The Red Dragons have fresh investment and the upward impetus to attract top Championship names in their new quest to survive and thrive in the second tier of English football but they won't be resorting to the tactics that set them on their way unless they really want to pull in a big fish.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are expected to dig deep along with the Allyn family to ready Wrexham for the challenge ahead. They've been linked with a couple of Premier League stars, namely Jamie Vardy and Tom Cairney, but if their approach thus far is any indication their business might be more strategically geared towards the Championship.

But if they do look a little higher up the pyramid, Reynolds and McElhenney might need to get back on the blower.

They haven't had to get stuck in for a while to get a signing over the line, acknowledging now that Wrexham's own clout is enough.

"Despite Wrexham not being strapped for cash – with the celebrity owners sitting pretty on an estimated combined fortune of £300million – they found it tough to tempt players to take the plunge down the leagues," reports the Daily Star.

On the Fearless in Devotion podcast, Wrexham chief executive Shaun Harvey revealed that it's an approach the club hasn't needed lately.

Wrexham striker Paul Mullin (Image: Getty)

"Rob and Ryan do speak to all of them, but it's usually afterwards. Famously, they did speak with Paul Mullin to tell him that they were serious," said the former EFL head honcho.

"When we were in the National League, they did need to become more involved to convince players that this wasn't just a scam. They don't need to get on a telephone call now to tell players that we're serious. They can see that for themselves.

"The agents ring us now so we don't need to deploy them as much because of that. But they certainly speak to every single player very quickly after we sign them."

Parkinson and Wrexham have some recruitment to do this summer. After the step up to the second tier, the club announced that eight members of the first team squad have been released at the end of their contracts.