After both Birmingham City and Wrexham were promoted from League One at the first attempt, championship football is calling for them both next season. With driven owners running both teams, this summer may be one to remember for the fans of these teams.

After dropping to the third division, Birmingham made lavish purchases of players like Willum Willumsson and Christoph Klarer before breaking the League One transfer record to sign Jay Stansfield for an estimated £15 million.

Wrexham spent relatively little in contrast, but they made wise acquisitions for players like Ollie Rathbone and Sam Smith from Reading, which have ultimately benefited the team.

According to Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports, Birmingham and Wrexham will be among the division’s biggest spenders as they try to compete in the Championship next season. They may even be vying with teams like Southampton, Leicester, and Ipswich for new players.

 

Lee Hendrie reacts to Sky Sports’ big-money prediction for promoted pair

Lee Hendrie, a Sky Sports analyst and former Aston Villa player, thinks Birmingham and Wrexham may exploit their financial strength to compete for promotion the next season.

According to Hendrie, the two have a great ownership arrangement that allows them to compete at the top right away, which is uncommon for teams promoted from League One.

“I think the spending power always comes into it,” explained the Sky Sports pundit when speaking to journalists.

“I think that favours them being promoted, so they’re in a really good position and predicament.

“After what Wrexham and Birmingham have done last season, why shouldn’t they be real strong candidates of going and getting promoted again?

“I think that we see teams coming out of League One, and they probably haven’t got the money and the strong incentives to bring in players that can have that bounce factor to go again.

“This is a different case with Wrexham and Birmingham City.

“I feel that they’ll be amongst play-offs, and there is a big case to say that they’ll go up automatically.

“However, that all depends on the teams that are coming down and the investments there, but I do feel that they have real strong stakes, both of them clubs, to go and get a promotion again, be it play-offs or automatically.”

A Premier League push for the duo

Tighter financial constraints in the Championship might deter them from their objectives to some extent, but you get the impression that the two are serious about their goals and will do all it takes to win.

According to Dorsett of Sky Sports, Birmingham and Wrexham are ready to make their intentions known with a window for the history books this summer, although both teams will need to make some significant readjustments if they are to stay in the top division for the 2026–2027 campaign.

Next term, there’s no reason why the two can’t compete for promotion if they make significant investments and hire quality players.