Wrexham's Ashfield hoping to make Wembley 'dream' a reality
Wrexham's Harry Ashfield will be looking to make his dream a reality on Wednesday as the Red Dragons host Peterborough United in the Vertu Trophy semi-final with a Wembley final awaiting the winner.
Ashfield, 18, has made an impression for his hometown club in the competition this season, netting his first senior goal in the round of 16 during a 4-1 win over Port Vale.
"It was the best moment of my life scoring for the club I've loved and I've dreamed of it since I was young," he told BBC Sport Wales.
"Coming home and seeing my mum excited that I had scored and seeing my dad proud, it was a good moment."
Ashfield made his Wrexham debut in the same competition last season, coming in a 3-0 win at Crewe Alexandra.
He has built on that in this campaign, but still remembers his debut fondly.
"It was an exciting day to get on the pitch for my boyhood team," Ashfield said.
"It meant everything to me. It was my dream to come on for the team that I love and all my family support.
"They loved it as well, they go to all the games, so it was a very proud moment for us. I've been a Wrexham fan since I was a little kid, so it was amazing.
"It means everything to me. I love coming out and playing at the Racecourse when I can. I just want to keep working hard and see if I can get out there more.
"I'm very grateful [to Phil Parkinson]. He's a great manager and looks after the young lads. I'm just grateful for the opportunity to play for my club."
Standing between Wrexham and a place in the final are Peterborough United, who currently sit 20th in League One.
The Posh progressed through the last eight of the competition with a 3-2 victory over Cheltenham Town at London Road.
"It'll be a tough challenge," Ashfield added. "It's a semi-final, so both teams will be very up for it.
"We want to give our best on the pitch and see if we can get to Wembley.
"It'd be massive. Even the best footballers, some of them don't get to play at Wembley, so to do that in my first professional year would be unbelievable."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
The Investment Ryan Reynolds Says He's 'More Proud Of Than Anything He's Done In His Life'
Actor Ryan Reynolds has accomplished the rare feat of being as famous for his prowess as an investor and businessman as he is for his work on the silver screen. One of his early forays into investing was Mint Mobile, which he famously pitched in television commercials before selling the company to T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) for $1.35 billion. Although Fortune estimates he made $300 million on that transaction, it's not Reynolds' favorite investment. Reynolds is co-owner of English soccer club Wrexham, and he reflected on his time with the club during an episode of the "Men in Blazers" podcast. "If I were to look back and tell you what I'm most proud of, it would be from my family," Reynolds said. "Wrexham has informed more of my life than I could ever possibly calculate." Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. That is incredibly high praise considering Reynolds is married to actress Blake Lively, with whom he shares four daughters. It's highly doubtful Reynolds will net a larger profit from his investment in Wrexham than he did from his 25% stake in Mint Mobile. Yet, Wrexham has captured his heart in a way that dollars and cents on a spreadsheet never could. It could have something to do with the passion that English soccer is famous for. That's because soccer clubs in England are more than just sports teams, something which is especially true for lower division teams like Wrexham. Even though many of the biggest teams in the top-level English Premier League are owned by billionaires like Arsenal's Stan Kroenke or Manchester City's Sheikh Mansour, there is an entire community of supporters behind every club. In many cases, this community of supporters stretches back several generations, and the clubs become central parts of life in the cities where they play. Smaller clubs don't play in gleaming $1 billion stadiums with luxury suites and five-star restaurants. Most clubs in the fourth division, which is where Wrexham was when Reynolds bought in, play in stadiums that barely hold 10,000 people. Despite that, game day is a community event that the entire town participates in. Trending: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: . Fans who don't get into the stadium fill Wrexham's pubs on game day and sing the club song. Win or lose, fans in cities like Wrexham love their club and view it as a public trust. Reynolds and co-owner Ryan McIlhenny's journey with the team has become a reality TV show in the U.S. Reynolds has been moved by the involvement and passion of the club's fan base. "You can hate me and Rob," Reynolds told "Men in Blazers." "But it's very hard to not root for that community and that place because, boy, when we first got there, there was a lot of 'why Wrexham?', and you don't hear any of that anymore." Reynolds' involvement has coincided with a period of unprecedented success in Wrexham history. English soccer does not have a draft where the worst teams can rebuild by getting first crack at the best players. Every year, the teams that finish in the bottom three slots in their respective division are relegated to a lower division, while the top three teams from that division are promoted to replace the relegated relegated to lower divisions is a financial disaster that has sent many teams into the English equivalent of a corporate bankruptcy. This system puts tremendous pressure on team ownership to sign the right players and hire the right manager. During Reynolds' tenure with the club, Wrexham has won promotion to a higher division for three consecutive years. They now sit in the Championship Division, just one step away from the Premier League, regarded as one of the world's best. The competition will be higher than anything they've faced since Reynolds bought the club. A promotion to the Premier League would be the crowning achievement for Reynolds. It would also be very lucrative. Accounting firm Deloitte estimates that promotion to England's top level can increase a club's value by several hundred million dollars. All Premier League clubs participate in revenue sharing from multibillion-dollar television rights and merchandising deals. With that said, it's clear that Reynolds is more interested in what promotion would mean for the Wrexham community than his bank account. He has embraced the community, and it has embraced him. It's the ultimate feel-good investment story. Read Next: Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article The Investment Ryan Reynolds Says He's 'More Proud Of Than Anything He's Done In His Life' originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
03-06-2025
- New York Times
Will Wrexham's Hollywood backers spend big this summer to try to reach the Premier League?
When one opposition manager referred to Wrexham as the 'Harlem Globetrotters' early last season, the inference seemed clear. That, like the iconic basketball outfit from the U.S., they are an exhibition team; put together as much to entertain with trick shots and fancy, even comic, routines as to win games. Advertisement The reality, of course, was rather different. Wrexham were deadly serious in their pursuit of a third straight promotion to reach the second-tier Championship, a feat they achieved with a week to spare. Taking six points off Rotherham United in the teams' two meetings — it was their then manager Steve Evans who came up with the Globetrotters analogy in October — only made their achievement taste sweeter. Evans' tongue may have been firmly in his cheek when dismissing the Welsh club. In the same pre-match interview, the Scot called big-spending eventual title-winners Birmingham City 'the Real Madrid of League One'. But the simple reason why Wrexham had a lot more about them than simply keeping the public happy was their recruitment. Just as it has been throughout the four-year reign of Hollywood-star owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Manager Phil Parkinson does his homework when scouting prospective signings — not just in terms of ability but also their character. The 57-year-old thinks nothing of driving 200 to 300 miles to meet a transfer target and 'see the whites of their eyes', as one former chairman put it. Three promotions in a row, from non-League to one rung below the Premier League, suggest the approach is working. So expect more of the same when the summer transfer window reopens fully on June 16, after the current mini-opening to cater for the Club World Cup. Here's what to expect from Parkinson and his Championship new boys before the September 1 deadline… As has been the case throughout the past four years, Parkinson has the final say on all Wrexham transfers. He does listen to his backroom staff, and in particular senior assistant Steve Parkin — Chris Johnson, a respected scout he first linked up with when manager of Bolton Wanderers from 2016-19, is also a big part of the process — but Parkinson is the man who ultimately says 'yes' or 'no' before handing negotiations over to the club, primarily director Shaun Harvey. Playing Championship football next season means extra quality will be needed right across the squad, apart perhaps from goalkeeper, where Arthur Okonkwo and Callum Burton look ready to face clubs and players who were in the Premier League just over a week ago, with Luke McNicholas as backup. Just how big a rebuild takes place at Wrexham this summer will depend on several factors, including how impatient the owners are to push on for top-flight football and just how much money the club has to spend on recruitment at a time when a host of costly infrastructure developments, including a new Kop at the SToK Cae Ras stadium also requires funding. Getting Wrexham up to speed as a genuine top-six contender in the second tier (finishing sixth would get them into the promotion play-offs) would usually take a minimum of three transfer windows. This is a huge step up in class after all, far bigger than anything they've faced so far at the three previous milestones along their journey from non-League. But there is also a sense this is a golden opportunity. It doesn't seem like there will be a lot of money sloshing around in next season's Championship, with just the three relegated clubs plus Sheffield United in receipt of Premier League parachute payments. Leicester City, one of the demoted trio set to benefit from an extra £49million in 2025-26, could also kick off in August with minus points after a substantial deduction. And if you take Leeds United and Burnley's miserly defence out of last season's second tier, it was far from a vintage affair. So could this add up to an opportunity for Wrexham to really go for it this summer? Only time will tell. As Parkinson admitted last week when speaking to The Athletic, Wrexham need to add pace and power to truly thrive in the Championship. More creativity from midfield wouldn't go amiss, either, especially if he sticks with the 3-5-1-1 setup that clinched promotion from League One. What will have to be guarded against, however, is a loss of the strong dressing-room spirit that has brought this club so far, so fast. Because signing the sort of players capable of propelling Wrexham towards the top end of the Championship will mean shattering their current wage structure. And history shows many clubs have suffered resentment and unrest as a result of doing that, especially after enjoying the kind of prior successes Wrexham have. Keeping a lid on this will be a priority, though Parkinson's renowned 'character test' when signing players — he likes these meetings to take place in a relaxed setting — should help. Talks have taken place with a number of targets, primarily in the free-agent market that has proved so fruitful in the past, with Paul Mullin, Elliot Lee and Okonkwo all having arrived via that route. Likewise, a host of loans managers at Premier League teams have been sounded out as to players' potential availability. As ever, though, Parkinson is keeping his list of targets under wraps. With 27 senior players under contract for next season and Championship clubs restricted to 25-man squads by EFL rules, there will have to be departures. Luke Bolton and Will Boyle are likely to lead any exodus after neither played a minute of league football in 2024-25, while it's difficult to see much of a role for 33-year-old Ollie Palmer in what will be the final year of his contract and maybe even long-time talisman Mullin. Whether there will be much scope to sell these players remains to be seen, with the more likely scenario seeming to involve agreeing pay-offs with those the club want to move on. Promotion means those who might have been handed an opportunity if Wrexham had spent another year in League One may need to be patient and, first, look for a loan move elsewhere. Harry Ashfield showed enough during his appearances in the EFL Trophy last season to suggest Wrexham have another promising talent on their books but regular football at a level below the Championship may be best for the 19-year-old's development. Likewise, Mo Faal, last summer's club-record signing whose only starts in his debut season came in the EFL Trophy. Jake Bickerstaff, having spent 2024-25 on loan at Altrincham in the fifth-tier National League, may be farmed out again. Otherwise, those deemed surplus to requirements who can't fix up a permanent deal will surely also look to the loans market for some football, with Wrexham receiving a decent-sized contribution to their wages from the clubs who borrow them. A year ago, exploring the free-agent market proved fruitful with George Dobson and Okonkwo going on to play big parts in this latest promotion. Plenty of work has been going on behind the scenes with regards to fishing in that pool again, the value which may not become apparent for another month or so, due to their targets still being under contract to their current clubs until June 30. But, as previous years have shown, patience is usually rewarded, with Okonkwo signing on July 1 last year after leaving Arsenal and Dobson six days later following the expiration of his deal at Charlton Athletic. Promotion means going from being subject to the salary cost management protocol (SMCP) to observing profit and sustainability rules (PSR). The difference between the two is marked: League One clubs are restricted to salary costs of no more than 60 per cent of their turnover, in the Championship the emphasis is on the amount of money you can lose over a three-year period. For Wrexham, this means being allowed to post a combined deficit of £45million in the 2023-26 cycle, after the standard deductions for allowable expenditure such as infrastructure costs and youth development are taken into account. With the club losing £2.7million in 2023-24 and a similar loss anticipated in the current financial year running to June 30, Wrexham could lose almost £40m next season and still be PSR-compliant. Nobody is suggesting they will lose such a sum in their first second-division season since the early 1980s — and only fifth ever — but it shows how much of a buffer they have to work with going forward.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Yahoo
Forgotten Liverpool striker set for MOMENTOUS Wrexham move
Danny Ings set for Championship move Danny Ings, who made 25 appearances for Liverpool's first team, left Merseyside in 2019 to join Southampton. During his time with the Saints Ings thrived, even earning a call up to the England squad, but the 32-year-old's career stuttered when he swapped Southampton for Aston Villa in 2021. Advertisement Ings has only managed to score 19 goals in 121 matches for Villa and West Ham since he left the south coast, but now the former Red may have a chance to revive his career. According to the Daily Mail, Championship newcomers Wrexham – famously owned by Hollywood duo Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds – are interested in bringing Ings in this summer, with the striker's contract at West Ham set to expire at the end of June. The report states that Wrexham's A-list owners are desperate to reach the Premier League and that they believe targeting experienced top-flight players will help them achieve that goal. Ings showed flashes of brilliance whilst at Liverpool, but if he can rediscover his Southampton form he will be a shrewd addition for the north Wales side. Advertisement The striker's current West Ham teammate, Aaron Cresswell, spent time in Liverpool's academy before moving to Tranmere aged 15 and is also named in the report as a player of interest for Wrexham. Cresswell has played over 300 Premier League matches and is also due to leave East London on a free transfer this summer.
