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BIRMINGHAM CITY CHAIRMAN TOM WAGNER HAS LOFTY AMBITIONS FOR THE CLUB THAT BEARS THE SECOND CITY'S NAME 05:00, 22 May 2025 Birmingham City are taking inspiration from both Wrexham and

Aston Villa, says chairman Tom Wagner. Blues battled and ultimately overcame Wrexham to waltz their way to the League One title this season and owners Knighthead now have a return to the

Premier League in their sights. Wagner wants to restore Blues to the top flight and reignite the fierce Second City rivalry with Aston Villa on the biggest stage. The ambitious American

financier has admiration for the work of Wrexham and Villa. Wrexham have risen through the leagues since being taken over by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and will play Blues in

the Championship next season. Villa, meanwhile, are targeting a place in next season’s Champions League after reaching the quarter-finals in this season’s competition. Firstly on Wrexham,

Wagner told the I: “Purely on the commercial side, it would be impossible to say anyone has done it better than Wrexham, who have created extraordinary revenue streams out of thin air.

Article continues below “That is no mistake. It’s a true storytelling genius that Ryan and Rob have brought to that club, and I think it’s to be admired and certainly, to a degree,

emulated.” Wrexham’s story has been documented in four seasons of Welcome to Wrexham on Disney+ and Blues featured prominently in recent episodes. The story of Blues’ record-breaking season

in League One is the subject of a documentary airing on Amazon Prime this summer. Villa haven’t had a documentary but they have risen up the Premier League table in the last two years under

Unai Emery. Wagner commented: “When we look at clubs that have risen quickly over the number of years, as much as some won’t like me saying it, I think Villa has done an exceptional job of

growing the club and the organisation and doing it in a way that should allow them to achieve long-term success, which ultimately is what we want, because we want a cross-town rival that’s

good. Not a cross-town rival that performs poorly.” DO YOU AGREE WITH WAGNER? HAVE YOUR SAY HERE BIRMINGHAM CITY CHAMPIONS 2024/25 RECORD-BREAKING Birmingham City are back in the

Championship. Chris Davies' side passed the 100-point mark on their way to taking the League One title this season. And this Birmingham Mail promotion special charts the brilliant

Blues' path to glory, with match-by-match analysis, reaction, comment, brilliant celebration pictures and a Champions poster in the middle pages. Buy now and have it delivered directly

to your door. Alternatively you can purchase in most supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents in Birmingham from May 9, 2025. _Everyday, the BirminghamLive football

desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Birmingham City content._ _Our dedicated reporters Alex Dicken and Brian

Dick - you can follow Alex on X here and Brian here - follow Blues around the country and they offer you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens

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