James Balagizi – Welcome to Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic have announced the loan signing of Liverpool youngster James Balagizi ahead of the 2023/24 season. The versatile midfielder spent last season on loan at Crawley but had an injury hit campaign that saw him play just 11 full 90s, so we’ll be hoping the 19-year-old has overcome the fitness issues and can contribute a lot more at Latics.

Balagizi can play as an 8 or a 10 and possesses a lot of quality technical attributes that will allow him to fit into our system and style of play. He’s another player who is comfortable receiving the ball under pressure and as you’d expect from somebody whose football education was at Liverpool he’s well versed playing a possession focused game.

At 6’2″ he adds a new physical profile to the midfield and is a very powerful runner, particularly with the ball at his feet. I have some concerns about his lack of game time at 19-years-old and worry that his injury issues could flare up again, but if he remains fit Latics could have a nice rotation option in the middle of the pitch.

What does he bring to the side?

First things first he adds another body in the midfield and gives us depth in a position we were very light in. The fact we can use him higher up the pitch or deeper is useful and makes him a valuable asset to the squad. I think his game is better suited to the attacking areas of the pitch though as defensively I’ve a few concerns.

His big frame makes him hard to dispossess and despite his youthfulness I’m confident he’s got the physicality to play at this level. When he gets going with the ball at his feet he really is hard to stop and I’m exciting by the prospect of having such a ball carrying force in the middle. It’s something every squad needs and something we haven’t truly had since Mo Diame.

Based on the clips I’ve seen of him he seems a very intelligent footballer too. I like the positions he takes up in attacking areas and feel like this is a part of his game that will only improve as he becomes more experienced. It’s clear that Maloney rates him highly and I’m sure he’ll put a lot of effort into developing him this season.

Something I’m expecting a lot from him is third man running and attacking the box from deep. Assuming he plays as an 8 in a 3-4-2-1 we’ll need him to break forward and support the front 3 and WBs, and given his off the ball intelligence I’m confident he’ll be good at that. His height also makes him an aerial threat too so that could be a nice path to a goal or two for him.

From a defensive point of view I’m unsure how much he’ll be able to offer. He’s definitely a more forward thinking player but does have the energy to get about the pitch and put himself about a bit. At Crawley he won the majority of his defensive duels which is promising but it remains to be seen whether that’ll translate to the league above.

Partnering him with Matt Smith would be interesting. The press resistance and ball retention in that midfield is pretty incredible and there’s a lot of legs in there too but I fear it might get overrun against teams who play three in midfield. Defensively, especially from a positional sense, I worry about that as a pairing and wonder whether it’s a case of one or other of the two.

I think we’ll enjoy watching him play, and more importantly he’ll enjoy playing here, purely because the system and style is well suited to him. His technical attributes are really good and will continue to improve as he develops as we’ve seen with so many other players under Maloney’s leadership. How much impact he’ll have immediately I’m not sure yet but as the season goes on he should come into his own.

Where might he play?

I’ve touched on it already but he’s a 10 who can play as an 8 when required. If I’m honest we don’t need an out and out 10 so I’m expecting the majority of his minutes to be played as an 8 as part of a double pivot. He’ll be the more advanced of the two if so and will be tasked with linking play between defence and attack.

I could see him being used as a ball carrying 8 to get us up the pitch during the first phase of build up. Matt Smith is the ready made deep plying playmaker in the squad but Balagizi is arguably more suited to receiving the ball from the defence on the half turn and driving the team up the pitch with the ball at his feet. Against teams playing high lines I’d want Smith receiving the ball and playing it straight in behind, against teams in mid-low blocks Balagizi’s ball carrying could be more useful.

In a 4-2-3-1 there’s slightly more chance of him playing as a 10 but again we’re well stacked in that area of the pitch. Based on the short amount of footage we saw against Hearts he could be suited to playing the role Scott Smith did, and his late runs and aerial presence could be really dangerous if he can get on the end of decent deliveries from out wide.

The main thing is it’s another body in midfield and someone who should get a decent amount of game time for us. Liverpool tend to be strict regarding their loanees so I’m expecting him to feature regularly, so he needs to hit the ground running. We’re still light in that position so he could well get his chance in the first team straight away.

Final Thoughts

I’m more than happy to trust Shaun Maloney on this one. Initially I had some doubts due to his lack of experience and injury concerns but based on the comments made by the manager upon his arrival it’s clear he really likes him and that’s enough for me. He’s yet to make a dud signing and we should be confident in his eye for a player.

The raw attributes he possesses are there for all to see and I like some of the clips I’ve seen of him. He’s clearly well thought of at Liverpool as he signed a contract extension upon joining Latics so all the signs suggest we’ve a player on our hands here. Hopefully we get a good look at him in the friendlies and see where we go from there.

As a cheap loan option he makes sense and it fills a gap in the squad. If I’m being critical I can’t see him making quite the immediate impact you’d want from a loanee but I’m hoping to be proven wrong on this one. The attributes are all there but with more midfielders likely to join he’ll have a battle on his hands for a first team spot. Let’s see if he’s up to it!

Welcome to Wigan Athletic, James Balagizi!