Hollywood stars set to sign up former Celtic defender at Wrexham

By John McGinley

January 31, 2023

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McIlhenney, owners of Wrexham, have given former Celtic defender Eoghan O’Connell a hilarious welcome to the club, teasing his official signing.

The BBC have reported that the 27-year-old is closing in on a move to Wales from Charlton Athletic.

The Wrexham story is one of the most well-known in football right now owing to their Hollywood backing and feature in a Disney+ documentary. So it’s nice to see a familiar name set to join the party as they push for promotion into English League Two.

And as you can see in the video above, posted by Always Sunny In Philadelphia star McIlhenney, the famous duo have had a bit of fun with their perceived lack of knowledge and the pronunciations of names in British football.

O’Connell made 13 appearances for the Bhoys in total after signing up for the club’s youth teams as a 16-year-old and moving through the ranks.

There were loan spells at Oldham Athletic, Cork City and Walsall before a permanent exit to Bury during the Brendan Rodgers era.

Wrexham are riding high in the National League, currently sitting in second to Notts County with enough games in hand to go top.

Reynolds and McIlhenney have been open with their ambitions to push the club through the divisions in England but the National League is notoriously difficult to scape from. They’ll be O’Connell can add the kind of quality needed to succeed.

The Welsh club could also have a blockbuster FA Cup tie on the horizon at home to Tottenham Hotspur after earning a surprising replay against Sheffield United at the weekend.

It could be quite a ride for O’Connell.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou lauds Celtic’s “very, very brave” unsung hero.