Cleworth: Wrexham ready to take on Chelsea and Man Utd

Wrexham ace Max Cleworth is pumped for his side's upcoming Stateside showdowns with Chelsea and Manchester United.

The newly-promoted League Two outfit, famously owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, will take on the Premier League giants as part of a four-game pre-season trip to the USA.

And promising defender Cleworth, 20, admits he is still pinching himself ahead of the mouthwatering schedule, which kicks off against the Blues tonight in North Carolina.

Speaking exclusively to LiveScore, he explained: "To be going to America as a League Two club is a bit mad! But the lads just can't wait for it to be honest.

"Obviously we play Chelsea, Manchester United, LA Galaxy II and Philadelphia [Union II]. It's going to be an unreal experience out there.

"A lot of the people who work on the documentary have told us how much support there is for us out there, so to be able to go and see that is going to be unbelievable.

"I've heard Chelsea are meant to be playing a decent team, too. So I can't wait to see that quality close up.

"We played two Championship teams last year, including Sheffield United who got promoted, and we held our own there — but these games will be a step up again."

Hungry for success

Academy graduate Cleworth enjoyed another strong campaign at the Racecourse Ground last term, making 24 appearances in all competitions to help his side towards a historic promotion.

Due to their high profile and star-studded squad, bookmakers have made Wrexham favourites for the 2023-24 League Two title — a tag the youngster accepts comes with the territory.

Cleworth said: "The expectation here is to compete [for the title] but I don't think anyone in the squad is naive enough to think it'll be easy.

"You've got teams like Stockport, Bradford, Notts County who just came up alongside us. There are loads of big clubs in League Two.

"It may be easier to get promoted in terms of there being three automatic promotion spaces rather than one, but I think we'll have to push as hard as we did last year, if not harder.

"We'll just take things week by week and see where we end up."

Viva Las Vegas

Owners Reynolds and McElhenney treated the squad to a Las Vegas trip earlier this summer to toast their National League success.

Yet they had not factored in the tender age of their Chester-born starlet, who was unable to enter any bars due to being under the age of 21.

Cleworth recalls: "I was allowed to go out to the restaurants and have the meals, and we were going to nice restaurants, so there was a lot of good food.

"But then obviously the rest of the lads were going out to clubs and they had tables and stuff. That was where I wasn't allowed in.

"Then there were pool parties through the day which I couldn't go to either. It was a bit gutting but I still wanted to go and it was still an amazing trip. 

"I think Rob and Ryan were hoping they might let me in but one of our security team said it wasn't worth the risk. It was just one of those things.

"Hopefully we can get promoted and I get to go back next summer!"