Despite earning promotion from League Two last season, Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham will not have to wait long to face the Class of '92's Salford City again as the prepare to do battle next season in the EFL Trophy.
The Red Dragons will play in the third tier in the upcoming campaign after another triumphant term, masterminded by head coach Phil Parkinson. With the backing of the club's Hollywood owners, the signings of former Premier League stalwarts James McClean and Steven Fletcher provided the existing team with extra quality which earned them the runners-up spot.
Meanwhile, Salford finished in 20th place in the table after a tough campaign which saw them stave off relegation back to the non-league. The ownership group, which consists of Manchester United legends Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and David Beckham, will be hoping that the Ammies can improve their results in 2024-25.
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The Greater Manchester outfit will have the opportunity to put things right in the EFL Trophy, where they have been drawn in North Group B alongside Wrexham. With the a final draw set to take place to determine the single Premier League Under-21 team which will be part of the group, the two sides have also been drawn alongside Port Vale.
Salford have had success in the competition before, having won the trophy back in the 2019–20, while Wrexham also triumphed in the tournament most recently in 2005. As for results between the two teams in the past year, Salford edged out a 3-1 win over Wrexham in February, while the Welsh side won 3-2 in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign.
The owners of both respective clubs have spoken glowingly about each other in the past too, with Dragons chairmen Reynolds and Rob McElhenney having been open about their admiration of Beckham, in particular. The former England captain even attended the Welsh club's FA Trophy final appearance back in 2022, as they fell to defeat against Bromley at Wembley.
Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds will be in direct competition with David Beckham and the Class of '92 again next termFollowing this encounter, Wrexham's world-famous helmsmen waxed lyrical about the football icon, with McElhenney saying: "Another benefit of being friends with Ryan is that he's friends with everybody. So the idea of learning the rules of football from one of the greatest footballers in the history of the sport is a pretty good aspect."
Meanwhile, Reynolds also waxed lyrical about the Old Trafford hero for his humility as he talked about the interactions he has enjoyed with Beckham, adding: "He's possibly just the nicest guy on planet earth - what's not to love about him? He's a great guy, so generous with his time."
It would appear that the feeling is mutual too, with the ex-Real Madrid right midfielder having praised McElhenney and Reynolds for their efforts in bringing Wrexham to a global audience. Speaking on the exponential growth of the popularity of the game stateside, Beckham namechecked the duo, saying: "That's why I moved to America in 2007 with my family to join the MLS and to join the Galaxy - because I knew that there was potential
"It was always going to be a challenge, and I'm glad that I played a small role in making the league as big as it is now, but it takes moments like what we've just done. It takes things like 'Ted Lasso,' and it takes people like Ryan and Rob to give it that bit of air."
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