Wrexham's links to Christian Eriksen look set to fall short of coming to fruition - but stands as a statement of the club's intentions not to rest on their laurels as their aim for the Premier League.
After eight years in the National League, the Welsh club's fortunes have been transformed since the arrival of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - now officially abbreviated simply to 'Rob Mac' as owners in 2020.
Wrexham have earned three successive automatic promotions to rise from non-league to the Championship, and now have their sights set on the top flight ahead of the new campaign.
Wrexham's ambition still clear as they face biggest challenge yet
Each promotion has seen Wrexham move to upgrade their squad. Even long-standing favourite Paul Mullin has departed on loan to Wigan this summer having played a more marginal role in League One last season.
The step up from the third tier to the Championship is pretty massive, however; many clubs struggle to get out of the bottom half in their first season after promotion, let alone going straight into the hunt for a top six place.
As such, Wrexham have been busy again this summer. They have moved to keep striker Ryan Hardie in the division after he hit double figures for relegated Plymouth last season.
They have added yet more proven Championship quality to their squad in the shape of Sheffield Wednesday talisman Josh Windass, who netted 13 times for the troubled club last season, and dynamic midfielder Lewis O'Brien, who was the standout player for Huddersfield Town as they reached the play-off final in 2022.
Welsh international goalkeeper Danny Ward has joined on a free transfer from Leicester City, and Wrexham have spent seven figures on Bolton midfielder George Thomasen and Empoli's Australian left-back Liberato Cacace.
So far, so solid - but Wrexham will be aware that they need to add a bit more quality in the final third if they are to push towards the top end of the table.
Hence those links to former Tottenham and Manchester United creator Eriksen.
Given that they had a series of short-term objectives to fulfil on their way up the leagues, Wrexham have not been afraid of turning to experienced players who can do a job for a season or two before bidding them a grateful farewell.
33-year-old Eriksen would have been in that mould and was reportedly impressed by Wrexham's proposal, but as it stands is said to be keen to keep his top-flight options open.
But the fact that Wrexham could even consider entertaining an offer for a player of the profile and wage expenditure of the Danish international speaks volumes about where they see their place in the football firmament at the moment.
The club's coffers have been considerably swollen by their new-found worldwide popularity thanks to the hugely popular 'Welcome To Wrexham' documentary series.
Their revenues in the 2023/24 season, when they were still a League Two club, stood at �26.7m.
For context, that was more than 14 Championship clubs earned the season before, putting them roughly on a par with Welsh rivals Cardiff and around �5m up on Swansea City.
Those takings will only have increased thanks to the greater TV revenues and continued global exposure Wrexham have enjoyed as they have moved up the English football pyramid.
Where they were among the biggest of big boys in their division over the past four years, though, Wrexham will now find themselves competing with former Premier League clubs with bigger attendances and the considerable advantage of tens of millions of pounds in parachute payments.
Wrexham will get a very firm idea of the level on the opening day of the Championship season as they travel to one of those clubs, Southampton, who have entered the division from the opposite direction after a dismal Premier League campaign.
In the face of that kind of competition, Wrexham will need to continue to be smart with their recruitment - but they also need to leverage their profile and ambition as much as they can.
Eriksen may not be heading to North Wales, but we wouldn't be at all surprised to see one or two other high-profile names land at the Racecourse Ground before the window shuts. If they can get that done, their journey may not be over yet.
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