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wrexham Chief executive Michael Williamson has revealed Christian Eriksen His summer approach was initially rejected as the former Manchester United star did not want to appear in the club’s award-winning documentary series.
Eriksen, whose heart stopped beating after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020, was a free agent following his departure from Old Trafford when newly promoted Wrexham to the Championship made his bold move.
The rise of the club from National League The ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ series, told under Hollywood bosses Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds, has won multiple Primetime Emmy Awards and other industry honors.
Speaking to That Wrexham Podcast, Williamson, who was on the Inter Milan board when Eriksen played for the Serie A club until 2020-21, said: “I reached out to the agent and what was really interesting in the first call was the response, ‘We don’t want his story to be in a documentary, because we have so many opportunities for his story to be in a documentary.’
“He thought we were calling not because of his football abilities, but because we wanted a documentary story (about Eriksen).
“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I didn’t even think about that.’ Obviously, I know about it, but that wasn’t the reason we were calling.
“We were calling because he could potentially be an interesting footballer, we are looking for players who can play for us in the Championship, difference makers who can help us be competitive on the pitch.
“When I explained what our real objectives were, to try to build a competitive team and I wasn’t even thinking about it from a documentary perspective, we had a great conversation.”
Williamson said the idea of signing Eriksen was “unpleasant”, but the midfielder wanted to continue playing for a “first-class club”.
The 33-year-old finally joined Bundesliga Side wolfsburg In September, but Williamson said that Wrexham’s transfer business benefited from his interest in taking Eriksen public.
He said: “I was not expecting the agent to come forward and say what he said because I generally expect those conversations to be confidential.
“But it sent a signal to the player market, if you like, that we were serious about being competitive.
“I think it was important because a lot of people were just saying, ‘Okay, what is Wrexham doing? You know, they were a bit quiet at the beginning of the market, but now they want to be competitive.’
“It opened up doors and negotiation doors to bring in players like Kiefer (Moore), Josh (Windas), (Liberato) Cacace, Lewis O’Brien, Conor Coady.”
Wrexham then broke their transfer record three times, spending a reported £10 million on Wales striker Nathan Broadhead and a total of £33m.
The Welsh club sit 16th in the crowded Championship table, five points from the play-offs.
Williamson said: “It’s going to take some time to really build a team that’s pushing for promotion. But it’s only going to get better and that’s what I’m excited about.”