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Liam Delap will be one of the most coveted players in England this summer, despite being unable to prevent Ipswich Town’s relegation from the Premier League.

The 22-year-old has scored 12 goals in 33 league games for the Tractor Boys, an achievement that only gains weight when you consider Ipswich have only won four games and scored 21 other goals all season.

Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United are all interested in a move for him this summer and Borussia Dortmund have been linked too, with a £30m release clause almost guaranteed to be activated.

Delap is on the verge of becoming a Premier League superstar. He might have found it difficult to believe that only two years ago, when he was a “baby giraffe” who had been through failed loan spells at Stoke City and Preston North End.

‘Rory’s son’

At Stoke, Rory Delap is a club legend and iconic long-throw specialist, but to Liam and his younger brother Finn, he is just dad.

Almost unavoidably, he was Liam’s first coach too. Having just started out at Stoke after moving from Sunderland, Rory volunteered to help look after the primary school football team when his older son was just five years old, but he was glad not to be in charge of his football for long.

“With a lot of parents, there comes a point with most kids, where they want the parent just to be a parent, and they want their coaches to be their coaches,” says Gordon MacLelland, who interviewed Rory for his book Working with Parents in Sport.

“Today, where the world can very quickly come back into the home environment through technology and social media, that’s probably become even more important, that there’s no muddying of that grey area between the two roles.”

So Rory was glad when his son was snapped up by Derby’s academy at the age of seven: he wanted to instil his own values and beliefs in both of his sons – Finn now plays for Burton Albion – but was also conscious of not being overbearing.

“It was tough at times [because] I didn’t want to be the parent who coached, who played the game for them and then gave them a rocket in the car on the way home,” Rory said.

Javelin and gymnastics helped development

Rory also didn’t want to force Liam into football just because that was his own world. He did gymnastics and athletics, where the son of a long-throw specialist showed an unsurprising aptitude for javelin, but football was always his number one.

He never wanted to miss training or a game, and soon it became the main focus, but coaches at Derby were glad that he pursued other sports, because it imbued him with extra athleticism.

Promoted to the Derby Under-18s, he found himself working under dad again; Rory was working alongside a coach named Justin Walker.

“Everyone had an eye on Liam and was aware of his potential at that point, at the youth levels,” Walker tells The i Paper.

“We were trying to challenge him [by promotion to Under-18s] because obviously his physicality in his own age group was just standout.”

He adds: “Rory was always a supportive figure. But he was father first.

“It was a pleasure to see Rory’s relationship with Liam. Liam was very independent and had his own mind, as you can see on the football pitch now. He was never pushed into any situation by Rory.”

Derby’s Under-18s won the league title that year, pipping Liverpool on goal difference, and while Delap was only a peripheral figure in that team, his reputation on and off the field was growing.

He was already known for a ferocious work ethic and a fiercely competitive nature.

“Off the field, he’s such a personality. He’s the most likeable, bubbly character,” Walker says.

“But he can flip that switch: I think all Premier League defenders will remember playing against him this season.

“He’s a winner. He wants to win, and he wants to win no matter what he’s doing, playing cards, playing dominoes, golf, whatever he’s doing. I think that’s testament to his mum and dad.”

Bouncing off hard-nosed defenders

At cash-strapped Derby, 16-year-old Delap was already a saleable asset and Premier League champions Manchester City won the race for his signature.

After 32 goals in 30 league games for the reserves, Delap finally got his chance to play regular first-team football when he was loaned out to Stoke in 2022.

“There was a lot of fanfare,” says Ben Rowley, a Stoke season-ticket holder and regular podcaster.

“He even had photographs taken with the owner and that does not happen with new signings, not least loanees. But I think all the Championship were after him.”

Choosing Stoke was straightforward: it was a team he had grown up watching, his father was a club legend who was also working there and the chance to work under Michael O’Neill was an attractive one.

“He [Liam] just had that history with the club, and even to the point where, because they were friends with Ryan Shawcross’s family, he went to ask Ryan whether he was okay with him taking the No 17 shirt,” a club source says.

But for all the excitement, his time at Stoke never really got off the ground. O’Neill was sacked before the end of August and replaced by Alex Neil, while Delap found the transition to adult football difficult.

“I thought he took what he’d done in academy football and tried to bring it to the Championship,” a club source adds.

“I was watching someone with loads of energy, worked really hard and he was clearly big and powerful, but when you play three games in a week in the Championship, it’s against hard-nosed, been-round-the-block centre-halves, and he struggled with that. He didn’t score many goals but equally, I don’t remember him missing loads of chances.”

‘A baby giraffe’

Rowley remembers something similar. “He had quite unbelievable pace and power, more than any Stoke City striker that we’d seen in the Championship at that time.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t know quite how to use that pace and power. He was like a baby giraffe. You could see the ability and hunger was there, and he was a relentless presser, but didn’t quite know how to do it.”

After just three goals, his loan was terminated in January. Stoke boss Neil said he admired Liam, but pointedly told the press that that Rory had left the club shortly before City called him back.

Unfortunately, there were more bumps in the road to come. He was sent out on loan again, this time to Preston, where fans couldn’t believe their luck.

“We got him and [then Everton’s] Tom Cannon in: two up-and-coming, promising Premier League strikers, and you’re just thinking ‘What a great strike partnership this is going to be’,” says Preston fan Jack Tucker, host of The Butter Pie Podcast.

“But Tom Cannon was heavily favoured. He ended up scoring more goals and Liam just never really got going.

“He just needed a better club that will just give him that chance of being the main man, because I saw this absolute workhorse, someone who would just run around and press and fight for every single ball.”

Just one goal in 15 games for Preston was the result, while Cannon got eight.

Tucker adds: “He needed that spotlight on him. We weren’t really utilising him as a No 9.”

A question mark about his ability

After two loans, and two relative failures, the Delap hype train was slowing. Another temporary switch was arranged, this time to Hull City for the 2023-24 season, where he found comfort in a familiar face.

“People were still hanging a question mark of what level Liam will play at,” says Walker, Delap’s old Derby coach who was by this point assistant manager to Liam Rosenior at Hull.

“Knowing Liam [Delap] as we did as a character, and having obviously close relationships with Liam and his family, we always knew what we were going to get in terms of a person and a character.

“But the most important thing was we had an identity of the way we played, and I think Liam fitted that as a profile, and it helped him develop his game.”

“I was trying to work with him trying to score a few tap-ins, which I know he’s gone on to do, but generally, they were all for Match of the Day showreel!

“But there were various finishes that he took time to practise, and his positioning has improved with his game experience. So he deserves a lot of credit for the way his game’s developed and matured.”

Delap scored on his Hull debut and had seven goals to his name by the end of the calendar year. After a lengthy injury lay-off, he came back to score against Ipswich during the run-in, a goal that perhaps finalised his summer move, a £20m transfer to Portman Road and the Premier League.

“I know he will be disappointed how, as a team, this season has ended up,” Walker adds. “But on a personal level, he’s shown that he can adapt to the top league, and he’s shown the qualities that we all know he possesses.”

Just as they were when he was a promising youth-team player, the suitors for his signature are already gathering. Via Derby, Manchester, Stoke, Preston and Hull, Liam Delap is going to the very top.

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Alexander Isak has been priced out of the reach of Newcastle United’s Premier League rivals Liverpool, with the Magpies’ internal transfer discussions centring on adding another striker rather than cashing in on their prize asset.

There is an irony that the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) – which have held Newcastle back in their attempts to build a squad deep enough to consistently challenge for honours – will almost certainly prevent Liverpool and Arsenal from formalising their interest in the Sweden forward this summer.

Speculation around Isak has been almost constant for the last year, but even the top Premier League clubs are now looking elsewhere given their belief that Newcastle’s ­valuation is around £150m for Isak.

The Magpies intend to reopen contract talks in the summer and are confident that Isak, who has three years remaining on his existing deal and has not agitated for a move, will be satisfied by their ambitious recruitment plans.

Liverpool and Arsenal are now actively looking at alternatives, having come to the conclusion Isak was effectively “untouchable”. Part of the reason is that his valuation would obliterate any PSR headroom.

Why Salah and Van Dijk contracts ‘are a problem’

Liverpool’s decision to commit significant funds to tying down Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to new contracts will have a big impact on their ability to broker big deals. But Bournemouth full-back Milos Kerkez is a £45m target.

“Liverpool are in decent financial shape but their ongoing commitments are significant. So I wouldn’t be expecting big, big acquisitions for Liverpool this summer,” explains Professor Rob Wilson, a football finance expert and programme director at the University Campus of Football Business.

“It appears to me they have backed themselves into an almost unmanageable corner with Van Dijk and Salah contract negotiations – they’re spending a huge amount on those two contracts which they can’t now re-invest in the playing squad.

“Those two players haven’t got any resale value, which may be a problem in two or three years. I’d estimate it’ll be net expenditure of £100m, perhaps, this summer which in today’s market requires smart investment.

“I don’t think they could afford Isak, PSR-wise, with the valuations Newcastle are looking at. It would blow the entire budget in one fell swoop if they did do it and that’s not something we’d associate with Liverpool’s approach.”

What does this mean for Newcastle’s summer?

Insiders say Newcastle’s own PSR issues have been significantly eased by the sale of Miguel Almiron and immediate permanent exit of Lloyd Kelly to Juventus, allowing them to invest in four or five signings this summer.

But for all the confidence that they have headroom to move for targets, it will be intriguing to see how director of football Paul Mitchell and manager Eddie Howe work together when restrictions on spending are loosened.

The i Paper can confirm Newcastle are in for Ipswich striker Liam Delap and Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen, who have release clauses of £30m and £50m respectively.

Howe has previously placed a premium on Premier League experience, although sources have also suggested the idea that he only wants domestic-based targets is overblown. He championed the signing of Sandro Tonali from Milan, for example – and he has proved a huge success.

Newcastle are almost certain to dip into the overseas market again this summer, believing it offers better value. Lowering the squad’s age profile is also a target, Newcastle having renewed the contracts of most of the players coming to the end of their deals.

Professor Wilson says Newcastle’s decision not to cash in on Isak means they will have to be strategic in the market – especially given the demands of playing in Europe next season.

“You either stick and move a couple of extended squad players out or you cash in on an asset and really give yourself some headroom,” he says. “I’m talking about Isak because his market value is very high. It’s not what people want to hear but the reality is you sell Isak for £120m or something of that order and you’re talking about bringing in three £80m players, potentially.

“The sale of one player can have a material impact on your entire squad but it’s a very tricky situation to be in because, financially, the Champions League is a game-changer in terms of revenue but it also puts demands on you. You have additional squad needs which cost money so there is a decision to be made.”

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Every ending is a beginning, and Arne Slot’s first Premier League title with Liverpool only means he has to start plotting the path to the next.

The lack of transfer activity last summer not only means wider-scale change is imminent and necessary, but provides Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes with the financial headroom to make things happen.

With Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk signing new contracts and Trent Alexander-Arnold seemingly en route to Madrid – although nothing has been signed – there is still a lot to come.

This is how Liverpool’s summer is shaping up.

Which players should Liverpool buy?

Adam Wharton

If we assume Liverpool are losing Alexander-Arnold, in Wharton they could find the natural successor to their local lad’s passing range and ingenuity.

He could take the strain off Ryan Gravenberch, who has started every Premier League game this season, while also giving Slot options – and one of the most exciting midfield prospects in the world – at No 6 and No 8.

The sticking point could be price, with four years left on Wharton’s contract.

Jeremie Frimpong

Whether Conor Bradley is the long-term solution to replace Alexander-Arnold on the right or not, Liverpool will need a new right-back.

Frimpong is arguably the most suitable candidate for the role, helped by a reported release clause of £34m and the likely disassembling of Bayer Leverkusen with Xabi Alonso expected as Carlo Ancelotti’s successor at Real Madrid.

This would not be like-for-like, and Frimpong comes with greater defensive concerns than Alexander-Arnold ever had. But for the price, he is a solid rotation option.

Hugo Ekitike

For all the links to Alexander Isak and Liam Delap, Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ekitike appears the most solid possibility to refresh the Liverpool frontline.

After his failed move to Paris Saint-Germain, where he played just eight minutes last season before heading on loan to Frankfurt and leaving permanently a year later, he averages almost a goal every other game at his current club, alongside 10 assists.

Still just 22, there is a phenomenal talent here.

Dean Huijsen

Huijsen is among the world’s most in-demand players this summer, aged 19 and Premier League proven with Bournemouth.

Available for £50m, he fills a need at centre-back and can launch succession-planning for Van Dijk.

Could perhaps do with another year on the south coast but, if Liverpool don’t pay up, someone else will.

Milos Kerkez

Probably the most widely-trailed potential summer incoming, Huijsen’s teammate Kerkez is one of few elite young left-backs anywhere.

With Liverpool needing to upgrade on the waning Andy Robertson, but still able to keep him around to teach a younger player, this would be a perfect marriage.

And who should they sell?

Darwin Nunez

It is clear that Slot does not trust Nunez, and for good reason.

With long-term Saudi Arabian interest allowing Liverpool to bail themselves out of one of their biggest transfer mistakes of the past decade without losing too much, they should cut their losses and look for an upgrade.

Just five Premier League goals this season is not good enough, and he cannot be relied on in big occasions. Could well thrive in the Saudi Pro League too.

Kostas Tsimikas

Tsimikas still has two years left on his contract, and at 28, is still an attractive proposition to other clubs.

Liverpool need a new left-back and either him or Robertson need to leave to make space, but the Scot offers more experience and value to the dressing room and would be an elite back-up if he’s willing to take on that role.

Jarell Quansah

Another player it is clear Slot does not trust, even given his room for development at 22.

An obvious talent at the right club, he could earn Liverpool £30m to £40m and free up a space for someone who’s more Slot’s speed.

Harvey Elliott

This is more for Elliott than for Liverpool. Capable of starting for most Premier League teams, he has not started a league game this season, and has only featured in the starting XI against Accrington Stanley, Plymouth Argyle, Southampton and PSV Eindhoven in that time.

While he could be a brilliant long-term asset, as proven by his goal off the bench against PSG, he deserves more than Slot is currently willing to give him. At 22, this is a crucial period in his development, and a change would allow him to flourish.

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Arsenal 0-1 PSG (Dembele 4′)

EMIRATES — Arsenal are still breathing, at least. A faint heartbeat still recognisable in their Champions League semi-final. The tie alive.

For a while it had looked as though they would endure death by a thousand passes at the feet of Paris Saint-Germain, their opponents out-thinking and out-playing them in their own home in a mesmerising first leg.

But Arsenal managed to regain some composure, wrestling some control back from a game that was slipping through their fingers like water. They travel to Paris next week a goal down, but hopes intact.

Mikel Arteta had told Arsenal’s fans to bring their boots for this momentous occasion, but 50,000 fans were still sat in their seats lacing them by the time PSG took the lead with a devastating goal after only 197 seconds.

WHAT A STRIKE FROM OUSMANE DEMBELE

PSG go ahead quickly at the Emirates thanks to the Frenchman's goal#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/hZe3vSLIhO

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025

Arsenal had barely touched the ball, PSG exchanging an exceptional 26 passes before Ousmane Dembele’s strike, leaving them with plenty of bodies in the penalty area when the move advanced into it yet still, somehow, taken by surprise.

Dembele’s pass out wide to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – the penultimate of the move – was a little off, and Kvaratskhelia had to go out of his way to retrieve it before driving into the side of Arsenal’s box.

Just inside, he flicked the ball back to Dembele with the outside of his boot, and the Frenchman stroked it first-time, bouncing the ball in via the far post.

It was the 45th goal contribution this season – 30 in 2025 alone – for a 27-year-old who will be a hot topic in Premier League recruitment meetings ahead of this summer and, if PSG can win the Champions League, a serious Ballon d’Or contender.

Dembele landed the fatal first blow, but PSG had started ferociously, like a prize fighter raining down jabs and combinations so quickly, the limbs and fists blur.

Gabriel Martinelli is denied an equaliser by an excellent Donnarumma save #UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/yful49ZWaw

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025

Arsenal did not know what had hit them. In front of a wild Emirates crowd, they had only 25 per cent possession in the opening 15 minutes. By 20, Bukayo Saka had four touches, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli three, Leandro Trossard two.

There was the semblance of an attack there – the idea and feel of one – but without a proper striker to hook everything on, to hold the ensemble together, it was almost as though an attack did not exist.

They would have been two down had David Raya not pulled off a sharp dive low to his left to keep out Desire Doue’s shot.

All Arsenal’s frustrations were epitomised by a moment of petulance from Saka late in the half.

The England international felt he had won the ball fairly from Nuno Mendes close to a PSG corner flag, leaving only Gianluigi Donnarumma between him and the goal.

But the linesman flagged, the referee blew his whistle, and Saka was booked for booting the ball towards goal before screaming.

But Arsenal dusted themselves off and, after a little swaying, stood up to the challenge.

Donnarumma had to make stunning, strong-wristed saves down low from Martinelli and Trossard.

There are moments that can charge the course of big ties, and one arrived within minutes of the restart.

The set-piece kings looked to have struck again when Declan Rice swung in a free kick and Mikel Merino glanced in a header. To the naked eye, it appeared on, and the referee awarded the goal. But the VAR wanted another look.

It was another innovative Arsenal orchestration – every attacking player well offside on the far side, jogging into the middle as one and seemingly slotting in onside as Rice struck the ball.

Player of the match: Ousmane Dembele

• The Frenchman turned up on the biggest of occasions and was the difference between the two sides

The wait was long. When it was over, the VAR deemed Merino was a hair’s breadth offside.

Nonetheless, Arsenal established a hold in the game in the second. But Luis Enrique made the more decisive substitutions.

In the final 10 minutes, Bradley Barcola came on and burst through Arsenal’s defence, only to roll the ball agonisingly wide.

A minute later, Goncalo Ramos, another substitution, had time in the box and poked the ball at goal, beating Raya but hitting the crossbar.

The tie could look healthier, but Arsenal will reflect between now and the second leg how much worse it could be.

They are still 90 minutes away from a first Champions League final in almost 20 years. Still breathing. Hearts still beating. Still alive.

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Barcelona are ready to make Marcus Rashford’s dreams a reality.

The Manchester United forward, 27, has his heart set on a move to the Catalan giants this summer.

But The i Paper understands that Barcelona are unwilling to pay the £40m option-to-buy United agreed with Aston Villa.

Rashford’s season appears to be over after he picked up a hamstring injury, which meant he missed Villa’s FA Cup semi-final defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Villa are now in talks with United over whether to cut short his loan move if there is no chance he will be fit again in the coming weeks.

A premature end to his season means Rashford and his representatives can get to work on deciding what happens next.

Barcelona has long been the preferred destination, so much so the player is understood to be willing to take a “substantial” pay cut, as one source put it, to secure the move.

Such is Rashford’s desire to play for a club in regular Champions League action, the 27-year-old is unsure about whether he would want to make his move to Villa a permanent one, despite him finding form again under Unai Emery.

Rashford knows any kind of return to United is unlikely, with Ruben Amorim and minority co-owners Ineos keen to move the homegrown player on, given the breakdown in relationship with the manager.

United are also desperate to secure some funds for Amorim’s crucial squad revamp this summer, with at least two attackers part of his transfer plans – one central striker and a versatile wide forward.

Matheus Cunha is the most likely to fulfil that latter role, with talks advancing over a proposed £62.5m switch from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Liam Delap fits the profile of the kind of centre-forward United are interested in, with progress made on a cut-price deal, given that the 22-year-old’s relegation clause has been activated following Ipswich Town’s demotion.

Those two deals alone will take United’s spending past £100m – money the club do not have readily available.

Their financial position will be even more restrictive if United fail to win the Europa League.

Therefore, money from player sales is a must, with Ineos essentially open to offers on almost all members of the squad, including youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho.

Antony, Jadon Sancho and Rashford – all out on loan at present – are the other three who could raise the kind of funds Amorim can reinvest in his team.

Sources in Spain insisted Barcelona are aware of United’s position, and that will affect how they approach any negotiations.

Barca are in need of a wide forward, one capable of also playing through the middle.

Beyond their impressive current widemen – Lamine Yamal and former Leeds United winger Raphinha – their options are thin on the ground, while there is also very little cover for 36-year-old centre-forward Robert Lewandowski.

The La Liga leaders are short of cash themselves, but the reduced transfer fee they believe could persuade United to let Rashford go gives them a little more leeway in contract negotiations, as does the player’s preference of club.

Despite Villa’s willingness to pay the £40m transfer fee, Rashford’s wage demands, even if they are substantially less than his current £300,000-a-week deal at United, are unlikely to be matched.

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Doing the 92 is Daniel Storey’s odyssey to every English football league club in a single season. This is club 83/92. The best way to follow his journey and read all of the previous pieces is by subscribing here

Of all the towns and cities in the UK I have visited on a matchday this season, nowhere competes with Wrexham for the percentage of people wearing a replica shirt of the football club. Groups of friends outside pubs, entire families walking through the city centre, couples heading to the game early; most are in Wrexham red.

This local patriotism is reflected back at those who are basking in it. In the window of a stationery shop stands a life-sized cardboard cutout of Ryan Reynolds. Down the road, a large sticker in the window of a sandwich shop declares their love for – and deep pride in – the club. There are posters, flags and banners. No other place in the Football League does a matchday feel connected to the city centre quite like Wrexham.

To those who think this is fuelled by a tourist army, think on. You do hear the odd North American voice in Wrexham, tempted into the trip by documentary fascination. They collect in small clusters in the stands at the Racecourse two hours before kick-off, comparing travel notes and anticipation and waiting to be blended into the throng.

But on the whole, the misaccusation is that Wrexham’s matchday is in some way plasticised or inauthentic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing is rolled in glue and rhinestones here.

Wrexham 3-0 Burton Albion (Saturday 5 April)

• Game no: 83/92
• Miles: 184
• Cumulative miles: 15,972
• Total goals seen: 216
• The one thing I’ll remember in May: Ryan Reynolds being treated like a god by Wrexham supporters for 40 minutes before the game. Lovely to see. Game recognises game.

That seems a deliberate ploy from the top and bottom. Wrexham’s owners appreciate that their presence will cause external cynicism, either from those who are jealous or those who see Hollywood-tinged coverage as antithetical to English – and in this case, Welsh – football’s inherent traditionalism.

So they and the club’s supporters have vowed to redouble their efforts to ensure the essential ingredients remain unchanged. At the front of the Wrexham Lager stand, one supporter waves a giant Wales flag before the game and at half-time. This is a reinforcement of history and of home, but it also fits into the modern strategy.

The success of this project has its nucleus in the fascination of a provincial north Walian city and its club. The greatest trick Reynolds and Rob McElhenney pulled off was understanding what they could change and what they shouldn’t. It enabled them to bring red to what had faded into greyscale.

The Racecourse Ground sits at its heart. Along the wall of the Macron stand sits a round, green plaque. It marks the centenary of Wales vs Ireland in 1906, the earliest film of an international that exists. This is the oldest surviving international football stadium in the world and Wrexham are the third oldest professional club.

Any cynic should reflect upon what was saved by this takeover. In 2004, owner and property developer Alex Hamilton gave the club notice to leave the Racecourse Ground. Administration later that year saved Wrexham from liquidation, but the club was left gutted. They were relegated into non-league in 2008 after 87 years as a league club.

Recovery only truly started with the Supporters’ Trust take over in 2011, but crisis continued to leave its watermarks. Between 2013 and 2018, Wrexham finished outside the top six of the National League for five seasons in a row. In the season before the takeover, the National League season was suspended due to Covid-19 with Wrexham one point outside the relegation places.

On my day in Wrexham, Reynolds is here too. Forty-five minutes before kick-off against Burton Albion, he strides across the pitch towards the Macron Stand. There is a rush of supporters to the front, where the owner spends half an hour chatting, posing for selfies and meeting supporters of all ages. All of them are enraptured by the meeting.

It goes without saying that this is not what most EFL club owners do. It is also not for show (or if it is, it has happened continuously since their arrival). Ask Wrexham supporters for the greatest impact of this ownership structure and they will point to the community impact.

Reynolds and McElhenney have handed out money to a shop that was vandalised, donated to treatment for children in need. They have championed the use of the Welsh language. They have paid for free caravan holidays for underprivileged families and for a home to be adapted for a disabled child. Their philanthropy builds community.

The most astonishing element of this story is that two Hollywood owners (albeit helped by British writer Humphrey Ker) walked into a National League football club and, over the course of their first four years, have got almost nothing wrong.

Wrexham have become the first team in the history of English football to go from the fifth tier to the second in consecutive seasons. The plan was always to reach the Championship. Nobody ever thought it could happen this quickly.

The off-pitch success, incited by the Disney documentary series, is astonishing. Earlier this month, Wrexham announced annual revenues of £26m, up £16m year-on-year. The most fascinating detail was that 52 per cent of that revenue came from outside Europe (with the majority of that presumably in North America).

As a result, money has been spent on this squad – Wrexham have one of the bigger budgets in League One. The arrival of Sam Smith from Reading in January was a statement of intent, particularly given he joined a group of strikers who were all of a type: Steven Fletcher, Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, Jay Rodriguez, Jack Marriott. The youngest of those is 30.

This is also a triumph of defensive coaching. For all the accusations of overspending, Wrexham were considered to be play-off hopefuls in August after consecutive promotions. The aesthetics under Phil Parkinson may occasionally be questionable, but Wrexham have the second best defence in League One and have scored fewer times than Peterborough United in 17th. They grind out wins and they have won 17 times by a single goal.

For all the appropriate talk of investment and Hollywood fame, this season constitutes overachievement on every level. Even if you focus on the economics, the EFL is littered with clubs who wasted money missing out on their dream. Wrexham are hardly the only free-spending team in League One.

Of the 11 players with the most league minutes for the club this season, six were with them in the National League and two more joined in League Two. They have taken more points in the third tier than the fourth. All of that is remarkable, no doubt.

Coming to Wrexham now, as someone who visited the Racecourse before McElhenney and Reynolds and everything that came with it, you can fall into the trap of expecting something groundbreaking. It is as if the word Disney alone triggers thoughts of theme parks and garish sensationalism. None of that really applies. Matchday is matchday; Wrexham is Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wycombe Wanderers and 88 other places in the EFL.

Add that to the initial cynicism and the lingering jealousy of their peers and, inadvertently, the perfect conditions for this club to succeed were created. Parkinson generated a siege mentality, in tactical style and atmosphere. The club saw the scepticism and have made it look utterly foolish.

Together they broke records and they won’t stop now. The Championship is an enormous step up for this squad and there will be a necessary overhaul of players. Birmingham City are far better prepared. But relentless achievement becomes self-fulfilling in a sport where momentum is everything.

That hints at the great dichotomy of Wrexham and their rapid rise. On the surface, this appears as a celebrity expansion project with a football club at its centre: the documentary, the sponsorship deals, the raft of North American supporters, the owners who may well sell up at some point and be happy with their work.

And then, alongside that, runs an intense, heartwarming strand of hyperlocalism. Strip back everything else and what do you have? The biggest conurbation in north Wales, an area that has suffered irrevocably through the decline in traditional industry (coal, steel, brickworks, brewing, iron, leather), being given a new lifeline through football.

That is why you see so many shirts in Wrexham and so many local businesses playing their part. It’s not because the owners are famous; that is merely an indirect factor. It’s because they are proud of what their football club is doing off the pitch, proud of how it is thriving on the pitch and proud of how it has reconnected with its community. The last four years have been a triumph on every level.

Daniel Storey has set himself the goal of visiting all 92 grounds across the Premier League and EFL this season. You can follow his progress via our interactive map and find every article (so far) here

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Has there ever been more excuses made for why a team has won a title, rather focusing on what the champions have achieved?

Nobody has put up a serious challenge, we have been told, frequently. It was the only off year Manchester City have had in a decade.

As though Liverpool’s 20th top-flight trophy has been handed to them, neatly gift-wrapped and with a delicate bow on top.

Not by putting together a 26-game unbeaten run, or losing only twice, or practically having the title wrapped up by February and confirming it with four games to spare.

No, this one has been handed to them with a dainty pat on the head, apparently.

Oh, and haven’t they been so lucky with injuries? Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have miraculously stayed fit and not missed a league game.

Speak to many of the fans who clambered on rooftops outside Anfield and stumbled gleefully through the stadium’s nearby streets celebrating on Sunday, they would tell you this team can dominate for years.

To outsiders, looking in, it has sounded more like this is a quirk of nature, an anomaly in the system, a glitch in the matrix.

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart offered the most cutting assessment of pundits.

“I don’t see anything crazy,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Do I see them dominating? No.

“It’s not a team that blows people away, it’s a top, top team. They’ve [been] immaculate this season, but we all know that it’s all going to start again next season.

“Plans are being made. Of course, I feel they’re going to be up there, but there’s not enough to say, ‘Strap in, this is the Arne Slot era’.”

What more, out of interest, does one need to see before plugging in the seatbelt?

The two best and most experienced players staying for two more seasons? A main midfield three to rival any other, no older than 27? Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving for Real Madrid but a thrilling full-back offering a different profile already in their squad offering a different profile and ready to replace him?

A new manager who has just outsmarted Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, without buying any of the players he wanted?

Hart wasn’t the only one: others listed teams that would ensure there would be no repeat, including City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle United.

By how much more and how much more comfortably did Liverpool need to win this title to overwhelming convince this isn’t an unexpected Premier League eclipse?

The biggest title-winning margin belongs to the Manchester City team of 2017-18, who won the league by 19 points.

Liverpool currently lead the table by 15 points. And it isn’t inconceivable that in the final four games of the season they equal or surpass that. They still have Arsenal to play at Anfield, remember.

That same season, City amassed a record 100 points. Liverpool can still hit 94. They have won seven of their last eight league games, during which they have apparently been having a wobble.

Even if they only just break the 90-point barrier, it will place them in the top 10 of all-time points tallies. Which is a heady list, dominated at the top by the Liverpool and City, Klopp vs Guardiola teams of the late 2010s, scoring 97 (Liverpool), 98 (City), 99 (Liverpool), and that City century.

We’re talking monster teams with mega players: Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Vincent Kompany, Ilkay Gundogan, Salah, Sadio Mane, Van Dijk, and James Milner.

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side of 2004-05 sit beneath them, with 95 – a team that included Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Petr Cech.

The Manchester United title-winners of 1999-00 – Treble winners the previous season – which had in the squad Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Jaap Stam, and Gary Neville, are in the top 10, with 91 points.

As are Arsenal’s Invincibles. That side, managed by Arsene Wenger no less, was pretty good – in it were Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp. They got 90 points.

Are there other metrics to assess quite how dominant Slot’s Liverpool have been that are more palatable? Different metrics to contrast and compare? What if we take a look at how long they led the table?

By the end of the season, Liverpool will have been top for 234 days. Only Liverpool’s last title-winners, topping it for 346 days, and City, in 2017-18 leading the table for 240 days – when, again, they got 100 points – have bettered that in the past decade.

Having written Liverpool and their new manager off at the start of the season – as I and most others did – it would be foolish now not to strap in, and see where Slot can take them.

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