Wrexham chief executive Michael Williamson has said that Christian Eriksen initially rejected their summer approach because the former Manchester United star did not want to appear in the club’s award-winning documentary series.

Eriksen, whose heart stopped beating after he suffered cardiac arrest playing for Denmark at Euro 2020, was a free agent following his departure from Old Trafford when Wrexham, newly promoted to the Championship, made their bold move.

The club’s rise from the National League under Hollywood owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds has has been told in the Welcome to Wrexham series, which has won multiple Emmy awards and other industry honours.

Speaking to That Wrexham Podcast, Williamson, who was on the Inter Milan board when Eriksen played for the Serie A club from 2020-21, said: “I reached out to the agent and what was really interesting in the first call is the reaction was, ‘We don’t want his story to be in a documentary, because we’ve had plenty of opportunities for a documentary for his story.’

“He thought we were calling not because of his footballing capabilities, but because we wanted a documentary story.

“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I didn’t even think about that’. Obviously, I’m aware of it, but that wasn’t the reason we were calling.

“We were calling because he could potentially be an interesting footballer, we’re looking for players that could play for us in the Championship. Difference makers that could help us be competitive on the pitch.

“After I explained what our actual objectives were, trying to build a competitive squad and that I wasn’t even thinking about it from a documentary perspective, we had a great conversation.”

Williamson said the idea of signing Eriksen was “kicked around,” but the midfielder wanted to continue playing for a “first-tier club.”

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The 33-year-old eventually joined Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg in September, but Williamson said Wrexham’s transfer business benefited from their interest in Eriksen being made public.

“I wasn’t expecting the agent to come out and say what he said because I typically expect those conversations to be confidential,” Williamson said.

“But what it did was it sent a signal around the players’ market, if you will. That we were serious about being competitive.

“I think that was important because a lot of people were just saying, ‘OK, what’s Wrexham doing? You know, they’ve been a little bit quiet at the start of the market, but now they want to be competitive.’

“It opened up doors and conversations to bring in players like Kieffer [Moore], Josh [Windass], [Liberato] Cacace, Lewis O’Brien, Conor Coady.”

Wrexham subsequently broke their transfer record three times, spending a reported £10 million ($13m) on Wales striker Nathan Broadhead and £33m in total.

The Welsh club are 16th in a congested Championship table, five points from the playoffs.

“It’s going to take a few windows to really build a squad that is pushing for promotion. But it’s only going to get better and that’s what I’m excited about,” Williamson said.

Pakistan’s newly appointed one-day international (ODI) captain Shaheen Afridi and star batter Babar Azam have fallen in the latest ICC rankings of the 50-over format, while several other national players have made notable advancements.

In the batting rankings, Babar Azam dropped one position to fifth, holding 728 rating points. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and opener Fakhar Zaman each gained a spot, now positioned at 23rd and 26th, respectively.

Middle-order batsman Salman Ali Agha jumped nine places to 30th with 569 points after his pivotal performance against South Africa in the series opener.

Left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq slipped one spot to 42nd, whereas young opener Saim Ayub retained his position at 53rd with 509 points.

India’s Rohit Sharma has retained his position as the top-ranked ODI batter, with Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran holding on to second place.

New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell moved up two spots to third, pushing India’s Shubman Gill down to fourth.

In the bowling charts, Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi slipped one place to 15th with 587 points, while fellow pacer Naseem Shah surged 10 positions to 33rd with 524 points.

Spinner Abrar Ahmed also gained ground, rising to 37th, and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz climbed three places to 69th with 436 points.

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan continues to dominate the ODI bowling rankings, followed by South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in second.

England’s Jofra Archer advanced to third, overtaking Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana, who dropped to fourth.

Chief selector George Bailey praised uncapped opener Jake Weatherald as “impressive” after the 31-year-old was named in Australia’s squad for the first Ashes Test. Bailey highlighted Weatherald’s attributes, saying he possesses all the qualities needed for the role.

Marnus Labuschagne was recalled to the squad, while young opener Sam Konstas was dropped from the 15-man roster. Steve Smith will captain the side in Pat Cummins’s absence due to injury.

If selected to face Ben Stokes’s England in Perth on November 21, Weatherald would become Usman Khawaja’s sixth opening partner since David Warner’s early retirement last year.

Previous experiments with Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney, Travis Head, Labuschagne, and Konstas had not yielded long-term success.

Bailey did not confirm whether Weatherald would make his debut in the XI. “No, not confirmed in the XI,” he said.

“We still have 14 of our 15-man squad playing round four of the Sheffield Shield, so there’s more information to gather. Cameron Green returning to the bowling crease will also influence selections.”

All-rounder Green has been batting only since returning mid-year following back surgery 13 months ago, having bowled just a handful of overs this season.

If he proves fit to handle sufficient bowling workload, Green would likely bat at six, allowing Weatherald to open with Khawaja.

In that case, Labuschagne would return to his preferred number three position, after scoring five centuries in eight innings this season.

If Green is still struggling with his bowling, Labuschagne could open alongside Khawaja, with Green at three and Beau Webster retaining his spot at six.

Renshaw left out

Tasmanian left-hander Weatherald has been a top performing opener in domestic ranks over the past few years.

He put himself on the Ashes radar by clobbering 183 for Australia A during a red-ball series against Sri Lanka A in Darwin this year, with his form continuing in the Sheffield Shield.

“I think if you look at his performance over 18 to 24 months it’s been really solid and then there’s a method there that I think we like and is complementary to those other players around him in the squad,” Bailey said.

“He scores at a good rate. The way he goes about building his innings, it’s been impressive.”

His inclusion meant disappointment for Matt Renshaw, who had been tipped to get the nod as Konstas has struggled for form.

Smith takes charge because Cummins, who will travel with the squad to Perth, has not played since picking up a lower back injury against the West Indies more than three months ago.

The day-night second Test in Brisbane from December 4 is a tentative target for Cummins to return.

The ever-reliable Scott Boland will replace Cummins in the seam attack alongside quick bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

Nathan Lyon provides the spin option in his 140th Test, where he can surpass Glenn McGrath to become the sixth-highest wicket-taker in history by claiming two more victims.

Uncapped Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott were included as the back-up fast bowlers and Josh Inglis will provide cover for wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Following Perth, the five-Test series moves to Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

England drew 2-2 on home turf in the most recent Ashes series in 2023, but have not won in Australia since 2010-2011.

Australia squad:

Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster