If Wrexham AFC beat Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham to £17m deal then Rob and Ryan mean serious business | OneFootball

The Red Dragons have reportedly expressed an interest in signing exciting Angers forward Sidiki Cherif

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney may be about to issue a serious statement of intent towards the entire Championship in their pursuit of getting Wrexham promoted to the Premier League.

As per Football Insider, the Red Dragons have expressed an interest in signing exciting Angers forward Sidiki Cherif.

It is believed by the outlet that the 18-year-old French forward has caught the attention of some Premier League sides as well, including Newcastle United, Sunderland and Fulham.

Valued at a reported £17m, Cherif is clearly loving life in western France, having netted three goals in his last six games - but may find himself forcibly sold by Le SCO in an attempt to help balance their books, Football Insider note.

With Phil Parkinson's side three points out of the playoffs in 14th - at the time of the report - Cherif could well be the spark needed to get the Welsh club battling to go up come the end of the season.

By adding in the development surrounding Ryan Hardie as well, Wrexham may well be in for another big spending transfer window.

Wrexham AFC could upset Newcastle United, Sunderland and Fulham with £17m Sidiki Cherif move

The aforementioned report mentions that Wrexham have identified the European transfer market as offering far better value than in Britain - and they are prepared to smash their transfer record to secure the teenage sensation.

Angers, like many French clubs, face pressing end-of-year accounting pressures because the top-flight is apparently in "financial ruin" according to another report from The Guardian.

This is why the Welsh club apparently believe they can steal a march on their Premier League rivals by bidding for Cherif in the January transfer window.

For a club of Wrexham's size to seriously compete with Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham suggests a level of ambition that extends well beyond mere survival in the second tier.

Yes, the attraction of playing in the Premier League would normally be irresistible to any teenage prospect, yet Wrexham would probably offer guaranteed first-team football - which the other clubs named cannot.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney seem prepared to smash Wrexham AFC transfer record again

Regardless of how the start of the season has panned out, the Welsh club's spending in the last transfer window already hinted at their promotion ambitions.

By signing Nathan Broadhead in a deal that could reach a reported £10m, Wrexham broke their transfer record for the third time in the summer - Lewis O'Brien and Liberato Cacace were the other two.

To put this into perspective, director of content at Realtimes Network, Paul McDonald, told BBC Sport Wales in September that, "40% of clubs in Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga spent less than £10m in this window".

"It means their [Wrexham's] net spend is higher than that of Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund among other established names," McDonald added.

As per transfermarkt, Angers didn't spend a single penny on transfer fees this past summer - so perhaps they wouldn't think twice as to who to sell Cherif to, just as long as someone pays the asking price.

Potential Ryan Hardie exit could pave the way for Sidiki Cherif to join Wrexham AFC

On paper, the scenario of Wrexham outbidding Premier League teams for a young striker sounds very audacious, but given that Ryan Hardie is looking to pursue opportunities elsewhere, a spot for another forward opens up.

As exclusively revealed by FLW on Monday, Hardie is considering leaving Wrexham as early as January in order to play more football elsewhere.

The 28-year-old signed for Parkinson's side in a three-year deal worth around £700k in the summer after Plymouth Argyle’s relegation to League One - but has only played 167 minutes of league action across five games.

Ultimately, there are definitely a lot of things that need to go in the Red Dragons' favour for this Cherif deal to happen, but it could be an incredible coup.

If Wrexham can actually offer the £17m - and if the French teenager accepts a move to north Wales