Hartlepool United takeover: How close Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney really came to Pools deal

But unlike an all-time Hollywood classic, it continues to bring about a sense of ‘what if’ among supporters whenever the story rears its head.

It’s no secret Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney might have ended up at the Suit Direct Stadium had things gone a little more off script two years ago.

And yet it’s news which continues to crop up, even more so now that Wrexham will replace Hartlepool in the Football League next season.

Reynolds has become that engulfed in all things Wrexham, and football, that the Welsh club may even feature in his next blockbuster movie – and yet none of that is consolation to Hartlepool, of course.

While suggestions that the duo were interested in Hartlepool remain true, just how close they came to opting for the North East has been a little up in the air but was discussed by Wrexham’s executive director Humphrey Ker in a recent interview with The Athletic.

Ker explained: “We had five criteria. These were fanbase – genuinely 10 out of 10 for Wrexham on that, as they got 4,500 every week in the National League – geography, the narrative – as in the history of the town, the challenges a club has faced that meant it deserved a break – socio-economic status and facilities.

“Facilities-wise, Wrexham did not score particularly highly. It didn’t own the Racecourse Ground and didn’t have a training ground. Where Wrexham did do well, though, was geography and catchment area.

“Take another example of a club we discussed: Hartlepool United. They didn’t score very well on geography because they were so close to Middlesbrough, so close to Sunderland and so close to Newcastle, competing with a lot of big, big clubs.

“There also wasn’t that huge amount of population there. Whereas in North Wales, there are about 750,000 people. A decent catchment area and a big, dormant fanbase that we felt wouldn’t take much to activate.

“Ultimately Wrexham had been a front-runner from very early on and remained first choice. Hartlepool had been opened up as a second front if this had all gone wrong.”

The report suggests Wrexham finished top of Ker’s list of possibilities for Reynolds and McElhenney with 38 points out of 50 to Hartlepool’s 36 within the aforementioned five-fold criteria. Only then was contact made with both clubs over potential offers before the takeover at Wrexham went through in February 2021.

Hartlepool chairman Raj Singh has previously dismissed claims any substantial offer was made for the club having routinely suggested he would move on from the club should any suitable offers be made.

“If someone was to come along with an offer that I felt was in the best interest for this football club, then I would gladly step aside,” Singh said earlier this season.

"I really could not care less, and have not got any time, for those people who don’t believe, or doubt, that statement.”

And yet that sense of ‘what if’ will continue to linger with Hartlepool now they have been relegated back to the National League with club president Jeff Stelling recently suggesting the potential takeover as a make or break moment for the club.

"It was a real sliding doors moment for the club,” Stelling explained in a recent interview with iNews.

“It’s 100 per cent true that they wanted to buy Hartlepool and it’s ironic they went for Wrexham in the end who are going into the Football League when the club who was their first choice, which was us, are going out of the Football League.

“It’s gone now though, there’s no point in regrets.”

Sky Sports presenting legend, and Hartlepool favourite, Stelling has spoken quite frequently about the potential takeover when touring the nation at talk-in events.

Recently, Stelling suggested Singh wanted a full return on his £1.8m investment into Hartlepool if he were to move on with the offer making up less than a third of that as per reports from renowned North East journalist Mike Amos.

But Stelling has not stopped there of late as he insists there are respectable offers on the table for the club, currently.

Singh recently announced he will officially put the club up for sale after claims he will listen to supporters’ voices who vented their frustrations his way in a critical 2-0 home defeat to Crawley Town on their way to relegation.

But while any potential sale could be elongated, Stelling believes Singh will keep good on his word to move on from the club for the best possible suitors.

“Raj Singh saved the football club five years ago when there was no-one else. Believe me, I know because I spent a lot of time trying to persuade people to fund the football club,” Stelling told iNews.

“He put his hand in his pocket as I put mine in my pocket as well. Mine aren’t quite as deep as Raj’s but he did what he promised he’d do, got the club back in the Football League, appointed Dave Challinor and yes he’s made mistakes since but he has to take credit for appointing the best manager the club has ever had.

“He has told me that he’d always leave the club in the best possible state and sell to people who could take it forward and I have to believe him.

“I know there are a number of groups interested in buying but I’ve been in the position before where I’ve been trying to broker deals or help broker deals and when you ask people to put their money on the table that’s when the crunch comes.”

The fairy tale Hollywood ‘what if’ has reached ad nauseam for Hartlepool by this stage – yet a takeover in general remains a necessity for the club.