Teasing social media posts 15 minutes before the hour are being scheduled. The printers at the stadium are backlogged with pages upon pages of paperwork. Scarves and flags are being draped around the shoulders of players. And X is full of rumours, discussion and frantic posting from supporters about who they might be supporting next season.
That sounds about right… the summer transfer window of 2024 is officially underway!
And it hasn’t taken Latics long to get involved, which I have to say is a positive. Just over a month after the conclusion of the 2023/24 season, we have completed our first signing ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Michael Olakigbe has arrived on a season-long loan from Premier League side Brentford, the same club who lent us Charlie Goode in January. They seem to be a club that we have built a good relationship with which is nice, and the fact that they have trusted us with one of their star youngsters is great news.
Olakigbe, who is 20-years-old, has twelve senior appearances for The Bees, and also spent the second half of last season on loan at unsuccessful League One play-off semi-finalists Peterborough United. He didn’t have much of an impact at London Road, but as a general rule if Posh sign someone, especially a wide player, they’re usually pretty impressive. It’s one hell of a reference for us, that’s for sure.
In this, and every ‘Welcome to Wigan Athletic’ article that I post this summer, I’ll be taking a closer look at all aspects of the new signing’s game. Their profile, where they’ve played before and how they’ve performed, their suitability to our club and our style of play, and a report on their best attributes as well of areas of their game that could hold them back. As best I can I’m going to try and provide you, the valued reader, with the best possible idea of what to expect from our recruits.
And as there’s no time like the present, here we go. Michael Olakigbe, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!
Profile
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 5’11”
NATIONALITY: ENGLISH
POSITION(S): LEFT WINGER, RIGHT WINGER
PREFERRED FOOT: RIGHT
Strengths
Michael Olakigbe is an out-and-out winger. Any traditionalists who only want a winger who gets the ball, knocks it past an opponent and whips a cross in will be pleased to hear that’s the most significant part of his game. He’s always looking to isolate his marker to create 1v1 situations, from which he backs himself to get the better of them with his pace, agility and trickery.
I’ve never been a fan of wingers, or players in general, who have the attributes to be direct with their dribbling but don’t use them to their full effectiveness. To explain further, think of an ‘out-of-form’ Martial Godo. He had all the physical and technical qualities that you’d want from a winger, but often cut back having beaten a man, or simply didn’t exploit the space that was there for him. It’s fine at times, but on a regular basis it can become frustrating.
A lot of the footage I’ve seen of Olakigbe suggests we won’t have that problem as much with him. He is still guilty of trying to beat his man twice, but that always seems to be when he loses the ball. As a result you’d like to think he’ll phase that out of his game, and focus fully on what he’s best at. Getting the ball, going past his man and releasing the ball.
He feints nicely to his left before shifting the ball and his bodyweight quickly onto his stronger right side. That’s certainly his best and most common ‘move’, and when playing on the right side it allows him to make space for crosses regularly. He averaged six deliveries into the penalty area per 90 at Posh last season, which bettered the numbers of Godo and Callum McManaman. Meanwhile, his 33 per cent accuracy with those deliveries betters Jordan Jones and Jonny Smith’s effectiveness, as well as 92 per cent of all other wingers in League One last season.
I like the fact that, despite favouring his right foot, he’s willing to take the ball on his left too. I mentioned it a lot in my Sensible Transfers articles; wingers that can beat their opponent on either side are invaluable and incredibly hard to defend against. It’s what made Jordan Jones so enjoyable to watch last season, and I’m encouraged to see that Olakigbe is capable of doing the same.
His work out of possession is certainly something to be excited by too, as he’s energetic and aggressive against the ball. The work rate that he possesses will no doubt have been a draw for Shaun Maloney, who asks a lot of his wide players from a defensive perspective. While he thrives with the ball at his feet I do think Olakigbe is a really decent addition from a defensive perspective too.
Limitations
Firstly, and most importantly, I would suggest he needs to develop a greater level of robustness to allow him to play a full season of League One football. His slight build sees him lose out in physical duels more often than not, and his grounding in youth team football means he hasn’t been challenged physically as much as someone like Martial Godo, whose career began as a non-league player at Margate.
I know he had a loan in the division last year, but if we’re being honest he didn’t play enough to get a real idea of how he’ll face up to the challenge. He has featured in 17 games of adult football, but his total minutes add up to just over four full 90s. That in part has been down to injury, particularly his spell at Peterborough where he didn’t feature at all in the final month of the season.
To ask him to come straight into a side as a front line forward player will be a big ask, especially as a ‘high speed’ player who has been used to short bursts of football rather than the ruthless Saturday-Tuesday schedule in the EFL. I don’t think we will, but in my opinion we can’t rely on him week in week out. Certainly not initially anyway.
Ultimately, Olakigbe is a young lad who is still finding his feet in senior football and with that comes a potential physical fragility, as well as some naivety in certain situations. I guess in the Michael’s case nothing highlights that more than his red card for Posh last season against Exeter City for two bookable offences. He made four fouls that day, and could have been sent off for a couple of them. It understandably infuriated a lot of people in Cambridgeshire.
I’d hope he’s learned his lesson from that moment and a lack of discipline won’t be something we have to worry about from him. I know that Maloney and the recruitment team put a lot of emphasis on recruiting good people as well as good players, so I trust he passed that test. We just need him to develop from an exciting academy starlet into a consistent first-team footballer.
From a footballing ability perspective he’s a real talent. If we can blend that nicely with a reliable physical robustness and a calm and composed mindset, we will have an exciting player on our hands.
Potential Fit
As I’ve touched on already, he’s entirely suited to playing as a traditional winger, mainly on the right side. I want to say him on that side more often than not because it gives him the best chance to get the ball in the final third, 1v1 against an opponent in a position from which he can put the ball into the box. It may sound basic, and it is. It doesn’t have to be complicated with Olakigbe, just get him the ball and let him do his thing.
His dribbling and crossing are certainly strengths, but you may have noticed I haven’t said much about his shooting ability yet. In truth it’s fairly mediocre, not inaccurate or unthreatening, but equally lacking the wow factor of someone like Jonny Smith. He wants the ball on his right foot all the time before firing efforts on goal, and as a result doesn’t find himself in a position to shoot as often as he might like.
The reason I mention this now is because it really limits him as a left winger in our team. If we want a more traditional winger on that side I’d favour Jonny Smith, as well as Callum McManaman and Jordan Jones if the pair of them extend their contracts. Then if we want a right footed option out on the left to cut inside and allow overlaps from the left back, I’d prefer to see Cal Mac, JJ or even Thelo Aasgaard out there as all three possess more goal scoring ability.
It’s the case with any footballer, but especially with young players you have to play to their strengths whenever possible. If we use Olakigbe as a right winger I’m confident that he’ll be really impactful for us. He’d provide the natural width on that side which means the likes of Sean Clare, Steven Sessegnon and Scott Smith can all invert from their right back position, something all three favour and suit doing when playing there.
I could also see him being used as the wing back / wide midfielder in a similar way to what Jones, Smith and McManaman were all asked to do at times last season. He actually played most of his minutes for Brentford at wing back, and as mentioned earlier is a very willing defender. I don’t mind him there at all, but would still prefer him to be given a bit more freedom at the top end of the pitch. Let him work back and defend for sure, but when he gets on the ball I want his starting position to be as advanced as possible.
Final Thoughts
I’m really intrigued by this signing, and having spent my evening researching him and writing this article I must admit I’m excited by it too!
You could argue that of the players to depart the club this summer, Martial Godo was the one who had the biggest impact on our team last season. At the very least he was in the top three, and as a result left a big hole in our squad that needed filling. With the addition of Olakigbe I believe we have gone a long way to doing just that, while adding some nice new attributes to our side that we have been missing.
Shaun Maloney wants his Latics side to play exciting, front-footed football next season. He’s made that very clear, and I think the signing of this high-volume ball carrying, threat creating winger is a clear indication of how he wants us to look going forward. Direct, quick and skilful are maybe adjectives that have been missing from Wigan forwards in years gone by. They are adjectives that describe Michael Olakigbe perfectly.
He fits the culture of the squad perfectly and is a similar age to the majority of his new teammates. His experience, while being minimal, in League One will have been valuable to him as I’m sure has been his time playing in Brentford’s B team and throughout the England national youth teams.
It’s a good start to our 2024 summer transfer window, it really is. He’s an exciting player who has all the ingredients to become a star within our team, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done between now and the start of the season. He needs a big pre-season to prepare for his first full season of football, because I want to see as much of him on the pitch as possible. If he gets a good run in the team we could have a new loan player to fall in love with…
Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Michael Olakigbe. Up The Tics!
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