Brady demands investment in Birmingham to compete with Wrexham

Tom Brady, co-owner of Birmingham City, has stated that his team must “keep pace” with the spending of Wrexham, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, in order to compete with them in the Championship. Birmingham broke spending records in League One last season and has brought in six players on permanent contracts this summer. Meanwhile, Wrexham is about to break its transfer record to sign Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich Town and has already signed Liberato Cacace from Empoli.

We have to keep spending.

Tom Brady

Brady expressed his admiration for Wrexham’s work:

They’ve done an incredible job. You can’t help but be excited about what they’ve done for that club… I’m very impressed with Wrexham. What they do on and off the field, and again, they’re in a great position to succeed.

Tom Brady

Brady’s Birmingham was undefeated against Wrexham in League One last season, winning 3-1 in their first match and drawing 1-1 in the return match. Both matches were dubbed the “Hollywood derby” due to American influences on the board of directors. Brady also commented on the friendly rivalry between the clubs:

We’re going to talk a lot of trash in the meantime amongst all of us [Birmingham and Wrexham], because it’s pretty fun theater, and I think there are some friendly little bets going on. But make no mistake, the people who are going to decide the fate of those matches are the players wearing those jerseys.

Tom Brady

• Wrexham interested in signing Welsh striker Kieffer Moore.

• Christian Eriksen’s agent says Wrexham made an approach for the transfer.

• Tom Brady questions Wayne Rooney’s “work ethic” at Birmingham.

Brady also talked about the possibility of hosting the NFL final in the Birmingham Sports Quarter, planned by owner Tom Wagner, which will include a new stadium with a capacity of 62,000 spectators. That would be incredible [to host the Super Bowl]. I don’t make all those decisions. I’m not sure how much I can influence those decisions. Brady expressed his confidence in the project:

My partner, Tom Wagner, is an incredible man, an incredible businessman. He has great ambitions for the club, and I would never bet against anything he tries to achieve. We want to bring back [to Birmingham] the glory it has had in the past. Getting promoted to the Premier League is a very daunting task, but it can be achieved.

Tom Brady

Birmingham City will start their Championship season at home against Ipswich Town on August 8, while Wrexham will travel to recently relegated Southampton on August 9.