This summer is one of the most important in Wigan Athletic’s 91 year history. After one of the most tumultuous season’s in living memory both on and off the pitch it is absolutely vital that the club change their staff structure, their budgets and of course their recruiting processes and playing squad in order to truly begin this new era in the correct way.
This time last summer I spoke about the importance of lowering the average age and increasing the sell on value of the squad in order to make the club more sustainable from a financial perspective. Signing players who still have room for development also creates an exciting atmosphere around the club and means that, in theory, we improve year after year.
There are enough experienced heads around the club despite what is set to be a mass clear out this summer, so my focus is on identifying and highlighting some of the most realistic and sensible transfer targets Latics could take a look at in the transfer window. All of the options fit a much smaller wage structure that the club will be operating with, and the majority are free agents or loans.
To get an idea of my thoughts about the 2022/23 squad check out my squad review articles I posted earlier on this month. There you’ll also find a rough estimate on the money I’m expecting us to free up and spend in League One. I’d suggest taking a look at those first before coming back to this and the other sensible transfers articles!
Before we start, a few disclaimers!
All of my sensible transfers articles have been planned, researched and written prior to the club releasing their retained list ahead of the 2023/24 season so are all subject to change.
These articles are written under the assumption that off field matters are resolved in good time and no more issues are on the horizon. The club has accepted a four point penalty at the start of next season but should that become eight points I’d imagine several players on my shortlists will become unavailable.
The wages, contract length and transfer value have all been taken from Transfermarkt which is a reliable but not necessarily 100% accurate website so don’t take those figures as gospel.
And last but not least, these are JUST opinions. I’m not pretending to be a recruitment expert, these are just some suggestions that I like the look of!
Current Options and Profiles
If you haven’t already you can check out a more in depth look at our current attacking options in my 2022/23 squad review article that was posted earlier this month. I came to the conclusion that Latics were in need of another striker or two, preferably ones that add pace and physicality to a pretty immobile forward line, as well as the ability to put the ball in the back of the net of course.
Ashley Fletcher’s troubled loan move has come to an end which frees up a lot of money, but high-earners Charlie Wyke and Josh Magennis are still around as well as Stephen Humphrys who has returned from his loan at Hearts. That leaves us with two target men who don’t offer much pace or goal scoring threat but can be useful in the build up and a slightly more complete forward who has the physical and technical attributes that we lacked last season but may not want to stay at the club.
If Humphrys wants to leave that’s fair enough as he’s been treated pretty poorly at Latics, but it’s imperative we get a good fee for him if so. His loan move in Scotland was brilliant for the first few months but dropped off significantly in 2023 so there might not be as much interest. If we can keep him around he should be our first choice striker in my opinion as he has the pace, power and technical qualities to lead the line in this system.
I want pace from my strikers so that’s what the majority of these suggestions will have in abundance. A speedy 9 to play on the shoulder of the opposition defenders and push their line further back in the process, therefore opening space up in the middle of the pitch for our AMs to shine. Of course we’re looking for goals but it’s unlikely that we’ll get a 20 goal striker in for the money we can spend.
I think this is a position we should be using a loan player on. We’ve got striking options at the club already so adding depth, quality and a different profile to those options in a cheap way would be ideal. There are also not many free agent strikers worth looking at this summer in my opinion so this way we’ll get more for our money.
That’s the skillset I’m looking for. It is unlikely a club at our level will be able to attract a player who possesses all of those attributes but these are some of the best and most realistic options out there.
Option One – Kyle Joseph
Team: Swansea City
Wages: £2k
Contract: 2025
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: A familiar name to Latics fans and somebody who knows what it takes to play for Latics during a crisis. Academy graduate Kyle Joseph was one of several youngsters to break into the squad in the 2020/21 season and impressed enough to secure a move to Swansea where he is still highly thought of. He enjoyed a successful loan spell at Oxford last season and may need another to help realise his potential. He’s a talented attacking player with a good amount of speed, skill and power, all of which are continuing to improve as he gains more experience. Decent dribbler and has the ability to make chances for himself from very little but maybe lacks the link up play to be a completely effective lone striker. May be best used alongside another forward or even as an AM but adds a new profile to the squad and has the potential to improve over the season. Latics will be playing a similar brand of football to Swansea if Shaun Maloney has his way so they’d hopefully be willing to let us have him and I’d like to think he’d be open to a return.
Option Two – Jay Stansfield
Team: Fulham
Wages: £4k
Contract: 2024
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: I’m a huge fan of Jay Stansfield, as I am so many of the Exeter squad from last season as you’ll know if you’ve read all of my sensible transfer articles! He spent the season on loan at the Grecians, his boyhood club and the place Jay’s late father was dearly loved during his own playing days, and had a very productive time. 16 goal contributions in the league is pretty impressive for his first season in senior football and Stansfield looks to be a really complete forward despite his youth. he’s spent the year playing as part of a fluid front 3 so he’d fit our system very well and he has the versatility to perform in any of the roles. Quick, hard working and deceptively strong mean he could lead the line for us but his aerial ability isn’t fantastic which might make holding the ball up tough. Like Joseph he might be better off alongside a Wyke or Magennis or a Humphrys but he’d be a real coup for us. I expect there might even be some Championship interest in him, but as a marquee loan signing it could be special.
Option Three – Josh Coburn
Team: Middlesbrough
Wages: £3k
Contract: 2025
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: Another player who shone on loan in League One last season is Josh Coburn, who spent the campaign at Bristol Rovers on loan from Middlesbrough. He dropped out of form towards the end of the season but either side of the World Cup he was one of the best players in the league. He’s real threat in the box and excellent movement and ability to get in behind the opposition is a real asset of his and something we lack at the moment in attacking areas. He’d certainly keep defences wary and help open space up for team mates but he maybe lacks the creative spark to make the most of that. He’s very much a poacher and his job in the team would be pretty simple, score the goals. He underperformed his xG last season which suggests his finishing needs work but it’s always encouraging to know he gets into the right areas. Boro may want to give him a go in the Championship but his stock has dropped in 2023 and we might be able to bring him in.
Option Four – Daniel Jebbison
Team: Sheffield United
Wages: £5k
Contract: 2024
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: This one might be slightly ambitious but if you don’t have ambition what do you have? Daniel Jebbison was a part, albeit small, of Sheffield United’s promotion winning side but I can’t imagine he’ll be getting much of a look in in the Premier League. He may well be sent back to the Championship but if we offered him guaranteed game time week in week out it could convince him to come to the DW. I think he’d suit us really well, a big powerful forward capable of playing up top on his own, decent speed and a good set of technical attributes to suit what Maloney wants from his forwards. Really productive with the ball in attacking areas, be that getting shots off or creating chances for his teammates, I’d suggest his link up play means he suits us more than some other options on this list. At 6’3 he’s good in the air and works hard off the ball which is a quality I like in a centre forward. We won’t get many players better than him and that’s why I’m unsure if this is entirely realistic, but if there’s a chance we should absolutely take it and bring him in.
Option Five – Christian Saydee
Team: Bournemouth
Wages: £2k
Contract: 2023
Estimated Cost: Free Transfer
Overview: I like this one a lot. I’ve watched a few Shrewsbury games this season and Christian Saydee has impressed me whenever I’ve watched him. For somebody aged just 21 he’s built like a brick, a really quick, powerful figure who’s a handful for any CB in the division. I’ve mentioned it so much already but this kind of physical prowess is something we really lack and he’d bring it all, as well as his ball skills. His link up play is superb, Saydee creates space for teammates by drawing CBs towards him and has the skill and vision to find them with flicks, tricks and incisive passes. He perhaps isn’t the biggest goal threat around as the data shows but I’m not sure if Maloney’s system is designed to suit an out and out goal scorer, so the fact he offers a bit of everything is nice. He’s still a very capable finisher and scores all different types of goals, it’s just not really the main part of his game. Bournemouth may be releasing him this summer so if we can sign him permanently that’d be ideal. It would be almost risk free if we did so.
Option Six – Dane Scarlett
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Wages: £6k
Contract: 2026
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: Continuing the trend of 2022/23 League One loanees, Portsmouth striker Dane Scarlett is next on my shortlist. His parent club Tottenham probably won’t have any room for him and if I’m honest he didn’t do enough at Fratton Park to suggest he needs a move into the Championship next summer. That being said he has the raw attributes to really suit a move to Latics and now he’s got a full year of senior football under his belt he should be better placed to perform well. He’s quick and has decent off the ball movement so suits the poacher, on the shoulder type profile we need to add to our forward line, but maybe lacks the strength to play up top on his own for 46 games. Excellent ball carrier, a skill definitely helped by his pace, and works hard off the ball ensure pressure is applied at the top end of the pitch. I think he’d be a really smart signing on a cheapish loan deal, assuming he’s comfortable leaving the south.
Option Seven – Morgan Rogers
Team: Manchester City
Wages: £5k
Contract: 2024
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: An interesting option purely because I’m not sure if he’s a natural striker or best used as an inside forward on the left wing. Morgan Rogers spent last season on loan at fellow relegated side Blackpool and performed pretty well in a poor side. He’s quick, skilful and very good at creating chances with his dribbling and passing but isn’t quite as much of a finisher as you might want from a no9. I think he could make a good strike partner to a target man, or even as one of the two behind a natural centre forward but some of his attributes would make him a decent option to lead the line. His pace in behind would be ideal and he clearly has the ability to provide for his fellow attackers, it’s whether or not he can rediscover his form from his time at Lincoln City in League One. If so he could be a very handy signing.
Option Eight – Slobodan Tedic
Team: Manchester City
Wages: £5k
Contract: 2024
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: Another Manchester City youngster and another who spent last season in League One. Slobodan Tedic is 23 now and doesn’t look like he’s going to make it at Pep Guardiola’s world beaters, but he is still under contract and might have time for one more loan move. He’s been at Barnsley for the year and has looked decent in the small amount of game time he’s been given, limited due to a lack of fitness and bad luck with injury. He’s a big guy, 6’3, and has the raw technical attributes you’d expect from somebody who has been at Man City paired with a decent set of physical attributes. In terms of leading a line I think he’s very well suited but you could he’s a bit similar to what we already have in the sense that he won’t offer that much running in behind. As a replacement for Wyke / Magennis I’d be very keen on him, maybe even on a free transfer if he leaves City permanently which could easily happen. Keep him fit and play to his strengths and there’s a serious player there.
Option Nine – Michael Mellon
Team: Sheffield United
Wages: £2k
Contract: 2025
Estimated Cost: Loan
Overview: The final player on the list is probably the least known and certainly the biggest risk, therefore given the current problems at the club probably the most realistic too! Michael Mellon should’ve had a really good spell at Morecambe after joining in January but his season was ended with a shoulder injury after just 8 games. In the short time he spent in the Morecambe team we saw an exciting striker with bags of energy, pace and willingness to work hard for the team which will be music to Latics fans ears. He’s keen to get shots off and tends to focus on getting on the end of moves rather than building them up himself which is the sign of a true no9. His parent club Burnley won’t have much use for him in the Premier League and he didn’t really get the chance to prove himself in League One, so it would make sense to test him slightly higher up the League One ladder.
Conclusion
This is a really interesting position for me. It goes without saying that the striker is a vital position and getting it right can guarantee your team a good season thanks to their goals and overall impact on the team. Latics have some decent options already but pace and finishing ability both need adding. With that in mind my eyes are drawn to Kyle Joseph, Jay Stansfield, Josh Coburn and Dane Scarlett the most. All have League One experience from last season and all offer different qualities to the current options we have. Committing one of our five loan spots to a striker is something I’m okay with if they offer us quality and difference which I think they all would do. Daniel Jebbison, Christian Saydee and Slobodan Tedic are slightly closer to what we already have but would still be quality additions as they offer more complete options than a Magennis or a Wyke. Morgan Rogers is a good player and his versatility excites me but I think it’s a slight risk bringing him in with the intention of playing him as your starting striker, and I think the same goes for Michael Mellon too. There are a lot of good options here, some more likely than others admittedly, and I’d be more than happy to see any of them sign.
They’re my suggestions, now its over to you! Do you like the sound of any of these players, if so which ones and why! Which players weren’t mentioned that you think should’ve been and why? Feel free to leave any feedback on my twitter account @danwafc03!
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