Wigan Athletic are nearing towards their first additions of the transfer window after recent notable departures, according to the Latics boss Shaun Maloney’s comments given to Wigan Today.
This news will be welcomed by fans of the Greater Manchester outfit, especially with coverage of the Latics being dominated by the possible extinction of the club before new owners were found.
Now, there’s cause for optimism with Maloney confirming that new faces will be in the building soon.
With the likes of Tom Naylor and Anthony Scully departing – Naylor surprisingly opting for a National League move to Chesterfield after making 36 appearances in the Championship last campaign – fans will be excited to see who their replacements are as the Latics embark on next season in the third tier.
Wigan Athletic Next Season
Even if a number of new arrivals do rock up at the DW Stadium, next season will still be a tough one for those with connections to Wigan Athletic.
Maloney’s men will start next campaign in League One on minus eight points, the possibility of a second successive relegation looming large.
However, it could’ve been far worse with a HMRC winding up order sanctioned for the club recently that would have seen the one-time FA Cup winners potentially go under.
With Wigan-born Mike Danson now at the helm as owner, the club have some stability. Yet, that points deduction does mean Wigan Athletic will face an uphill battle from the get-go when League One football kicks off again.
Ins And Outs At The DW
A number of players have already departed Wigan ahead of the next League One campaign, the aforementioned duo of Tom Naylor and Anthony Scully leaving for Chesterfield and Portsmouth respectively.
Players such as Ryan Nyambe, Steven Caulker, Joe Bennett and Tendayi Darwika were all announced as departing Wigan Athletic too when the retained list was finalised, Darwika leaving the club despite wearing the captain’s armband in the Championship last season.
It’s not all doom and gloom with various faces sticking around for the third tier journey under Maloney’s guidance, faces such as Will Keane who scored 12 goals in an otherwise miserable season for the Latics last time out.
Alongside Keane, personnel such as James McClean remain contracted to the Greater Manchester club – the Republic of Ireland international scoring nine times from down the wing last time the Latics dropped to League One level.
Maloney will hope that these players stick around even if transfer interest comes from elsewhere, the Scottish manager hopeful too of adding more players soon to bulk up his squad.
What’s Been Said?
When speaking at the DW to coincide with the League One fixtures being announced, Wigan boss Shaun Maloney was in positive spirits about imminent new signings coming in.
He said: “We hope there’ll be one in today, and also one in early next week.”
Maloney however remained realistic regarding the situation at hand, expecting more players to leave but not as a way to alleviate any money-related issues at the club.
He said: “I wouldn’t say that is a priority. But there are people who are here who don’t want to be here at the football club.
“Anyone who wants to be at another football club, that’s obviously a situation that has to be resolved. But that’s pretty normal, that was always going to happen this summer, players come and go.
“The squad will change, but there will also be a lot of players from last season’s squad that I want to stay.”
Writer’s View
It does feel as if there’s some optimism around Wigan Athletic at the moment, regardless of the points deduction the club faces and news that more players will likely depart the DW.
Just the fact that the club is now under more stable ownership and the worries of going extinct have been put to one side is something to be celebrated, Wigan at one stage were in real danger of folding.
Maloney and co will just hope that players will want to join Wigan even with their sketchy recent track record of not paying player wages and the general turbulence surrounding the Latics.
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