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Craig Bellamy, the former Liverpool star, has encouraged Wrexham to produce more Welsh talent after the club saw its players called up to the national team for the first time in 15 years.
Three of the Red Dragons' stars were included in the 25-man squad announced by Wales manager Bellamy for Thursday's World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan. Danny Ward, Kieffer Moore, and Nathan Broadhead all received the call-up after signing for Wrexham during the summer transfer window, following their third consecutive promotion to the Championship.
The trio were signed as part of a staggering £33 million ($44.3 million) spending spree, funded by their Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.
Regrettably, Ward and Broadhead pulled out of the Wales squad due to injury, but Moore might still get a chance to play in Astana. The 33-year-old forward was on the scoresheet as Wrexham secured its first win in the second tier with a 2-0 victory at Millwall last weekend.
Bellamy believes the club's rise under the star-studded owners has already given Welsh soccer and the nation a lift. The Wales manager is now eager to see Wrexham provide more players for the national team in the long term, particularly young prospects, after the two actors recently invested in a new multi-million pound youth academy facility.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Bellamy said: "I'd like to see them have more Welsh players. I believe that's [down to] time. I'd like to see him with a younger team as well, but I believe that's also time.
"They've just been promoted, promoted, promoted and they used a lot of experience for that. But what they've done with Reynolds... he's not just an actor, he's Brad Pitt level and I would watch any film he's in.
"I want to see that team as well. Not just being Welsh, but wherever I was from. I can see why so many Americans have fallen in love with it. It's been hugely beneficial for Wales, not just Welsh football, but for Wales as a country.
"I feel like a lot of Americans now know where Wales is. It's not just a small place by London, and that's big for us. Honestly, I'd say everything about it has been so, so positive."
Bellamy added: "I believe in the long run, hopefully Welsh football will really be able to benefit from them as well. Surely their academy is going to improve. That's going to allow better players to come through, and that's only going to benefit our country."
Moore has already left his mark for Wrexham this season, netting four goals in five outings across all competitions under Phil Parkinson's stewardship. The forward revealed he is "loving" his spell at the club and reckons his partnership with Broadhead can thrive thanks to their Wales connection.
"It can only be a positive thing," Moore said. "Obviously me and Broady playing up front together, it can only help. I have known Broady for a while now and we played together at Ipswich as well.
"It's a relationship that is good, I think on the pitch we could be better but are working hard in training. We are trying to find each other in certain little pockets, trying to play tighter and trying to enhance our game that way.
"It is something that we can only get better at the more we work on it. When we go away with Wales, we will just be training together again so it is a relationship which can really blossom."
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