Ryan Reynolds and Tom Brady warned Wrexham and Birmingham face ‘tough’ League One despite record-breaking summer

League One newbies Wrexham and Birmingham have been warned about just how brutal England’s third tier can be.

The two clubs have both experienced a rapid rise in American interest following their respective takeovers, with NFL superstar Tom Brady becoming a minority owner in Birmingham, while Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny took over Wrexham.

On the pitch however, the two clubs had contrasting fortunes.

In their first season of American ownership, Birmingham were relegated to League One for the first time in nearly 30 years, and will be aiming for an immediate return to the Championship.

On the other hand, Wrexham will be aiming to make it a third consecutive promotion as they look ahead to the return of the EFL this weekend.

The Welsh side won promotion back to League One for the first time in 19 years at the first time of asking, storming their way to 88 points and finishing second in the automatic promotion places a year after winning the National League.

But talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham, a lifelong fan of fellow League One outfit Peterborough, doubts their chances of completing a remarkable third straight promotion.

“Their ability to keep getting promoted reaches a certain point,” he said. “They will hit their levels and I think this is it.”

“(Manager Phil Parkinson) was promoted seven years ago from that division with Bolton. But the landscape has changed. It’s harder. Teams are playing more football for a start.

“The quality of players has improved, the quality of teams has improved. The qualities of managers has improved.

“Reading last season for example, they had a manager (Ruben Selles) who was in the Premier League the season before which is madness, but finished 17th (with points deductions).”

Wrexham have bolstered their squad with six new signings this summer, with Arthur Okonkwo rejoining the club following a successful loan spell last season after his contract expired at Arsenal, as well as former Charlton Athletic captain George Dobson.

They have also splashed out undisclosed fees on the likes of Dan Scarr from Plymouth, Lewis Brunt from Leicester and Sebastian Revan from Aston Villa.

Despite their reinforcements, Durham thinks that the club will be in for a quieter season this campaign.

“But I think in terms of on the pitch, this is where their success rate levels out,” he said. “They won’t go down, but in terms of challenging (for promotion) I don’t think that’s going to happen .”

If Wrexham are to mount any serious promotion challenge, they will face fierce competition from newly relegated sides Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United – all of whom have strengthened their sides significantly in the summer transfer window.

Most notable of the three is Birmingham, who have smashed League One spending records this summer after splashing out more than £10million on transfer fees in the hunt for an immediate return to the Championship.

Birmingham have brought in last season’s League One golden boot winner Alfie May from Charlton, whilst also breaking the League One transfer record on two separate occasions for center back Christoph Klarer and attacking midfielder Willum Thor Willumson respectively.

This has led many fans, including their own, to tip them as favorites for the League One title this season.

However, Adrian Durham has warned Blues fans not to get too ahead of themselves in their expectations for an instant bounce back to the Championship, citing Sunderland and Derby as recent examples of clubs who have been overconfident of immediate success in League One.

We all saw Sunderland’s struggles on Netflix’s Sunderland ‘Til I Die, after all.

“I don’t think they realize how tough it is,” Durham said. “It’s nowhere near as easy as these fans make out.

“They think they’ve got a divine right and all that,” he said.

Birmingham have blown the rest of the division out of the water in terms of their spending this summer, and despite relegation to the third tier have managed to secure over 18,000 season ticket sales – their highest figure in over a decade.

Whilst off the pitch things seem to be heading in a positive direction, Durham did have a warning.

He added: “Money in the bank is fine, and a big fan base is absolutely fine, but it doesn’t guarantee success in that division.”

Birmingham will hope that their work off the field will lead to a successful season under newly appointed head coach Chris Davies.

This is Davies’ first managerial role having previously worked as an assistant to Brendan Rogers at Leicester City, and most recently as an assistant to Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham.

Assessing Davies’ appointment, Durham said: “I think it could be a huge risk. What he has on his side though is he has a pre-season, he’ll have an input at least on transfers, so he’s got that on his side

“There’s less room to fail if you’re involved in the pre-season ahead.

“Then there’s the summer window. A lot of people will say he’s got the resources to succeed. But I’m not quite so sure because it’s a losing team so they’ve got to turn that momentum around as well.”

The new League One season gets underway on Friday night as Barnsley take on Mansfield Town, three days after the Tykes’ last minute friendly against Roma.

Birmingham will start their campaign at home to Reading on Saturday, whilst Wrexham host Wycombe.