Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner makes "Impossible" claim involving Wrexham AFC | OneFootball

Wrexham are looking to match the ambition of their American boardroom rivals

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner has praised Wrexham for the work they have put in behind-the-scenes in order to fuel such a historic and well-documented rise up the EFL.

Blues and the Red Dragons were the two standout teams in League One before a ball had even been kicked, purely as a result of the discourse generated as a result of their respective ownership structures, with Tom Brady involved in matters at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park whilst the Hollywood duo have been on quite the journey since their £2m takeover of the North Wales side back in February 2021.

The two sides then achieved automatic promotion and plenty of record-breaking feats en route, with Birmingham smashing an EFL and world record with an eventual 111-point haul, whilst Wrexham became the first club on these shores to achieve three successive promotions, with the upcoming Championship season now on the horizon for both.

Whilst it's clear that the two clubs will want to outdo each other in their respective journeys, Wagner has heaped praise on those at the Racecourse Ground for the way they have generated strong financial backing and increased their fanbase across the Atlantic.

Tom Wagner issues "impossible" claim involving Wrexham AFC

In early April, both clubs revealed their latest set of financial accounts which, from a Wrexham point of view, showcased a record-breaking turnover of £26.725m, which was a 155% increase on the £10.478m profit made in 2022/23.

The continuation of the Disney Plus 'Welcome to Wrexham' and its success was a major play behind the major increase, with the fourth season of the docuseries recently launching, whilst Blues' Amazon Prime series is set to launch in the coming weeks.

Unsurprisingly, when speaking to the I Paper, Wagner was extremely complimentary of the success which the Red Dragons have enjoyed from a marketing perspective off the back of the initial launch back in 2022.

“Purely on the commercial side, it would be impossible to say anyone has done it better than Wrexham, who have created extraordinary revenue streams out of thin air,” he stated.

“That is no mistake. It’s a true storytelling genius that Ryan and Rob have brought to that club, and I think it’s to be admired and certainly, to a degree, emulated.”

Tom Wagner and Birmingham City figure highlight Aston Villa success as key blueprint

Given the fierce rivalry that exists between Birmingham and Aston Villa, it may also come as a surprise to see Wagner highlighting the Villans' success as a blueprint which those in B9 could follow, as the American once again highlighted his dream to see Second City derbies played in the Premier League for the first time since 2011 in the near future.

“When we look at clubs that have risen quickly over the number of years, as much as some won’t like me saying it,” he continued. “I think Villa has done an exceptional job of growing the club and the organisation and doing it in a way that should allow them to achieve long-term success, which ultimately is what we want, because we want a cross-town rival that’s good. Not a cross-town rival that performs poorly.”

“It’s absolutely a top objective,” Wagner stated. “It’s the right rivalry for Birmingham, the right derby for English football, and the right way for each club to achieve its highest potential is by rekindling a rivalry that’s been dormant for too long.

“When I speak to the true fans on both sides of that rivalry, I get the same reaction, which is that they’d love to see it.”

Interim CEO and lifelong Bluenose, Jeremy Dale, also echoed Wagner's statements, saying: “It’s huge,”

“The whole city wants it. Everyone is waiting for it. It’s one of the greatest rivalries in football. Man City and Liverpool, Man United and Leeds, no one has got a true rivalry to the same extent we have.

“London clubs have got multiple ones. This is Blues-Villa, this is Rangers-Celtic, this is that level of intensity, and we all remember the days like ‘The (Peter) Enckelman’, when the stadium is bouncing, and we just want to be part of that. We can’t wait for the spirit to come back.”

Blues and Villa haven't faced off against each other since March 2019, when Jack Grealish was initially attacked by a Blues supporter in the opening minutes, before going on to net a 67th-minute winner in the second of Villa's 10-game winning streak under Dean Smith, which led to their Premier League return.

Birmingham haven't defeated their cross-city rivals since December 2010 in the EFL Cup quarter-final and haven't emerged victorious in a league fixture against Villa since March 20th 2005, when future Claret and Blue man, Emile Heskey, and Julian Gray netted at St Andrew's.

With plans for a 62,000-capacity stadium now in motion, time is running out for one of these hotly-contested and passionate clashes to take place at Blues' historic current home, meaning that back-to-back promotions would have to be achieved or a dream cup draw for both sets of supporters comes to fruition.