Well, after over a month of very, very little on the transfer front it’s time to dust off my laptop and fire up Wyscout because Wigan Athletic have completed their fourth signing of the summer in the form of experienced defender Will Aimson for an undisclosed fee from Gary Caldwell’s Exeter City.
It probably comes as a surprise that the first player we’ve spent a transfer fee on under the new ownership is a 30-year-old who joins on a two-year deal, given the major shift in philosophy when it comes to our player recruitment since the Danson family’s takeover.
However, if you want a specific type of player and person the chances are you’re going to have to pay for it, and Latics absolutely needed a streetwise defender who can play a vital role on and off the pitch, providing much-needed experience to our young squad. He’s the type of player that every successful squad needs.
With well over 150 EFL games under his belt he’s seen it all and done it all, something that can’t be said for many members of our squad. Aimson is a bit of an old-school defender in the sense that he’s very much a stopper first, ball player second. He adds a real grit to our back line and some much needed defensive knowhow, as well as his obvious leadership qualities.
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. Will Aimson, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!
Profile
AGE: 30
HEIGHT: 5’10″
NATIONALITY: ENGLISH
POSITION: CENTRE BACK
PREFERRED FOOT: RIGHT
Strengths
I’ve touched on it already, but Will Aimson is a rock-solid defender first and foremost. Despite not being the biggest physically, standing at less than six-feet tall, the 30-year-old mixes bravery and aggression with intelligent positioning to ensure he comes out on top in the majority of defensive duels he enters. He’s happy to follow his opponent into pockets of space and stay tight, ensuring they can’t turn easily with time on the ball.
Importantly though, Aimson doesn’t do this every time. There are times when being dragged out of position would be to the detriment of the team, and Aimson has a good understanding of these moments. Of course he can get caught out at times as his reading of the game, like anyone playing in League One, is never 100%, but on the whole he’s a very clever defender.
While someone like Charlie Hughes might be more stand-offish with his defending, and more reactive when it comes to making his challenge, Aimson is very much proactive when it comes to duels. In that sense he’s more similar to Jason Kerr, who is another front-footed stopper. He’s not got much pace and isn’t particularly suited to anything more than mid-block defending, so adapts his game to suit his strengths. That’s the sign of an intelligent player.
When it comes to his quality on the ball he’s definitely someone who is used to being asked to play out from the back. He did so at Bolton Wanderers and Exeter City, and played on the left, right, and in the middle of a defensive trio at both those clubs. He’s still maybe not the most comfortable when it comes to playing out deep inside his own half under pressure, but it’s an area of his game that most people who’ve watched him will admit has improved a great deal.
His long-range passing is actually really impressive and I think as a result he falls back on it more often than not, even when he should maybe try and play shorter at times. That’s not a bad thing though, because the accuracy with which he plays those longer passes makes it a really useful tool. He’s not quite Charlie Hughes like, instead adopting an almost Rugby-Union esq method of playing ‘territory gaining’ balls into the channels.
And of course I must touch on his leadership qualities too. He captained Exeter last season on several occasions and showed great character as he bounced back from some poor runs of form to finish the season as one of The Grecians most consistent and important players. To add that level of experience and prestige to our squad also shows how much we value our youngsters, because developing around senior players like Will Aimson is far more likely.
Limitations
In fairness to Will Aimson it’s quite hard to pick out any obvious weaknesses in his game. He’s very much a steady player across the board with a few standout qualities, rather than a player with several obvious strengths and several obvious limitations. I suppose that’s why he’s had the successful EFL career he has without ever really making it above League One level. He’s just a very decent player, but lacking the ‘sexiness’ of some who’ve made it to a higher level.
My biggest concerns about Aimson mainly lie in his slight lack of mobility. When he gets going he actually covers ground quite quickly, but off the mark and over short distances he can be caught out by more agile attackers. That slight lack of acceleration and agility is the kind of thing that can limit him when he plays in certain systems, and if Shaun Maloney is looking to implement a more aggressive, high-pressing defensive plan it may expose Aimson at times.
He actually conceded four penalties last season, quite staggering for an individual. Three of those came against Oxford United though, so perhaps their promotion is great news for more than just the fact that it came at Bolton’s expense! Aimson was guilty of being caught flat footed on several occasions against speedy forwards, and in a desperate bid to make up for his lack of speed he went to ground unsuccessfully.
And while I’ve mentioned how he usually makes up for his lack of height with great positioning and aggression, it still has to be said that against big target men he can, quite literally, come up short. It’s the kind of limitation that won’t be noticeable for 90% of the season, but for that 10% it’ll make for pretty painful viewing. Alongside the likes of Charlie Hughes and Jason Kerr that issue will at least be aided somewhat.
As I touched upon earlier Aimson isn’t the best short passer in the world. Under pressure he does have the tendency to send a searching ball forward, often at the expense of the pattern of play that his team were attempting to forge. Again, it’s not something that will pain us week after week, but absolutely the kind of thing that will annoy people in the games that it happens. I fear if he starts the season in that way it could tee him up as a new ‘boo boy’, something that seemed to happen at Exeter.
Aimson is what he is. He’s not particularly fancy, he won’t get people off their seats in the way some of our squad members will, but he’s not there to do that. When researching him and watching tonnes of clips I realised that I’ve actually seen him play live several times, but have never really noticed him or left a ground thinking about him in any way. As a centre back that’s absolutely great news for us.
Potential Fit
It will be interesting to see what formation Shaun Maloney wants to use as his primary this season, because it will have a big knock-on affect on several players in our squad. I think Will Aimson absolutely fits into that category, mainly because he’s a player who has spent pretty much all of the past five years playing in a back three.
That does help make up for his physical downsides, as well as help enable his willingness to jump out of the backline to tightly mark the opposition striker and nip at their heels. It’s a lot harder to do this when you only have one centre back partner, and I do think when it comes to playing a back four we’ll want to have Hughes and Kerr fit whenever possible.
He’s actually a really good option in a back three, and could easily feature on the right or in the middle of our back line should we play that system. If played centrally I’d want him flanked by one of Luke Robinson and Sean Clare though, just for that added mobility.
If he plays on the right it does open up his good cross-field pass, but can expose him to wide forwards who, on the whole, are quicker than centre forwards.
When it comes to playing in a back four I do struggle a little to fit him in comfortably. He’s very much right-sided, and as we don’t have a natural left-sided centre back yet it will be hard to see Aimson filling that void. Realistically he will be our substitute centre back when we play a back four, behind Hughes and Kerr in the pecking order. In fairness to Aimson there’s no shame in that, they’re two of the best in the division.
I’d want Aimson to be Kerr’s replacement on the right, and partnered with Hughes I’m happy. A stopper and a coverer, a nice mix of aggression and composure, long-range pinging and ball carrying. I think our build-up would really struggle if Aimson started alongside Kerr in a back four though, as neither are comfortable taking the ball under pressure on their weak side.
Final Thoughts
Will Aimson will be to this Latics squad what salt and vinegar is to a chippy tea. On paper there’s nothing particularly special about them, and they are by no means the main event of the dish, but one thing will be absolutely clear… you really bloody need them to make the entire thing come together properly!
Weird analogy perhaps, but it makes sense. The 30-year-old centre back will be vital when it comes to knitting everything together on and off the pitch, using his leadership skills to keep the squad together, and his football ability to lead by example on the field. He probably won’t go down as a club legend, we might not sell many ‘Aimson 4’ shirts, but every player in our squad will value him I’m sure.
We needed an experienced addition to our backline and I like the fact it’s been sorted with a good chunk of preseason remaining. We can fit him into the squad, start developing relationships and partnerships and get him settled in nice and early. We wouldn’t spend money on someone who won’t offer us plenty of value, and I’m sure that will be the case with this signing. It’s a strong stylistic fit, and I look forward to watching him play for Latics.
Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Will Aimson. Up the Tics!
Discover more from Talking Wigan
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Talking Wigan 