Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham could land transfer for Prem player Pep Guardiola thinks is 'special'

Wrexham have been linked with a Premier League player who Pep Guardiola has described as special. The Red Dragons, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have reportedly entered a three-way battle to secure the services of Manchester City academy product Tommy Doyle.

Championship rivals Birmingham City and newly-promoted top-flight side Sunderland are also said to be interested in the 23-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for Wolves. The West Midlands outfit are believed to be keen on initially sending him out on loan after he fell out of favour under Vitor Pereira last season, according to the Express & Star.

Doyle made only 12 appearances in the Premier League after the Portuguese manager replaced Gary O'Neil in December. He joined Wolves on loan from City two years ago, before the transfer was made permanent for around £4m last summer.

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He came up through the ranks at City and is the grandson of two club legends, Glyn Pardoe and Mike Doyle. He was praised by City boss Guardiola after he made a senior appearance against Swansea in the FA Cup in February 2021.

He made a 30-minute cameo during his club's 3-1 win after being brought on to replace Ilkay Gundogan. Doyle's performance impressed Guardiola, who reflected on his talents after the match.

"He is a good player, it's not the first time playing in the games," Guardiola said. "He's a player with a special quality. He takes it, shoots. Another Man City fan. A historic family, the historic Doyle family."

Doyle was also praised by then-City team-mate Kyle Walker, who hailed his attitude when joining the first team squad. "Tommy, what a great player," said Walker.

"And a good lad as well. An exciting talent, he wants to learn and it's a pleasure working with him. I've seen plenty of kids come through the ranks at numerous clubs with a chip on their shoulder but he's very good and very down to earth."

Doyle has made 50 Premier League appearances for Wolves, including a total of 24 outings last term. He previously earned promotion from the Championship two years ago during a loan spell with Sheffield United.

Wrexham are looking to bolster their ranks as they prepare to play in the second tier for the first time in 43 years next season. It follows Phil Parkinson's side securing a third successive promotion from League One last term.

Striker Ryan Hardie is Wrexham's only summer transfer signing to date after joining from Plymouth. Doyle's potential exit from Wolves was triggered after Pereira questioned his suitability to his side's counter-attacking style of play.

Speaking in April, the manager said: "Technically-speaking, he's a very good player, but in my opinion he's missing the physicality to face this league. To run 50 metres, to come back 50 metres and then go 50 metres again.

"We are not a team to have 80 per cent of possession, so he has problems. If we are a team that has the ball every time, doesn't allow counter-attacks and keeps the ball to dominate the opponent, this is the team for him.

"But we need to understand that we face top teams, top players. We need to run a lot and he's missing this physicality, especially when we play with two midfielders. With three midfielders, I believe he is a 10 with high quality. The last pass, shots, crosses – he has those skills."

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