It’s two in two days for Latics as our squad really begins to take shape ahead of the 2024/25 League One season and, well, that number nine we’ve been desperate for all window is finally in the building, and he’s ready to make a name for himself at Wigan Athletic.
Joe Hugill has arrived at Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan from Manchester United, and has taken the coveted no9 shirt in the process. The Durham-born centre forward joined the Red Devils in 2020 following a stellar youth career in the north-east, and scored goals for fun in their youth teams.
He’s had a few loan moves in his young career, to Altrincham and Burton Albion, which maybe haven’t been as productive as he might have liked, but a move to Latics feels far more suitable for him. He’s a natural poacher who needs the ball in the penalty area, and I’d suggest we’ll be able to provide him with a lot more opportunities than he had at The Brewers last year.
At 6’2″ he’s got a good frame, but isn’t particularly physically imposing. What that means though is he’s got a bit of pace about him, loves playing off the shoulder of the last defender and has a nice variety of finishes in his locker. He’s hard working, appears to have a good attitude and eagerness to prove himself. It feels like this season could be the making of him.
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. Joe Hugill, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!
Profile
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 6’2″
NATIONALITY: ENGLISH
POSITION: CENTRE FORWARD
PREFERRED FOOT: RIGHT
Strengths
Joe Hugill is a penalty box predator, a true poacher who thrives in front of goal in and around the penalty area. He has a natural ability to find himself in the right place at the right time and an understanding of when and where to make his movements. When the ball is out wide he’s good at making a yard for himself in the penalty area, with good speed and agility off the mark to lose his marker.
His best talent, and most frequent source of goals, is sitting on the shoulder of the centre back and receiving through balls in on goal. I don’t want to heap pressure on him, and he’s obviously nowhere near the level, but visually he’s got a touch of Erling Haaland about him. A tall striker with a surprising amount of speed, who when bearing down on goal doesn’t look like missing.
If you haven’t seen his goals against Derby County (for Burton) and against Rangers (for Man United) then I’d urge you to do so. They are two absolutely wonderful examples of centre forward play, and display attributes that we haven’t seen from our strikes since the days of Will Grigg. There’s nothing we needed more last season than a striker who threatened the opposition in behind, and had the composure to punish them when in front of goal.
His height means he can cause problems in the air, but lacks any real power to dominate physically dominant defenders. He’s considerably more effective against ‘hung up’ crosses, ones floated into the area that allow him to use his height rather than having to rely on winning the battle. Think Peter Crouch, just slightly shorter, rather than a Josh Magennis type target man.
Hugill is also decent when it comes to linking play up, and drops in well to combine with deeper players. I don’t want to pigeon hole him as a goal scorer and nothing else, even though I do kind of think that’s what our team needs. He’s more than capable of collecting the ball deep and distributing it to onrushing attacking midfielders, which is a nice attribute to have. That said, I’d prefer him to touch the ball 10 times a game and score once than see loads of it but not find himself on the end of chances.
And there’s a lot to like about Joe Hugill out of possession too. He’s an industrious player who is selfless with his work rate, and I expect him to lead our press well should we choose to really go after teams that build out from the back. He curves his runs to cut off key passing lanes, is brave and front-footed when it comes to closing down clearances and seems eager to get involved in the play at all times. He’ll run his socks off for an hour or so and be replaced by the equally terrier-like figure of Josh Stones, which is a great pairing.
Limitations
I’ve touched on it already, but I do have some pretty significant doubts about how he’ll cope against the real brute force defenders in the division. He seems quite easy to manhandle, and while his slight frame allows him to have a decent amount of pace for someone at his height it can lead to him being kept quiet against sides who sit in a low block.
He thrives on space to run into, and as we found out all too painfully last season there are teams in this division who won’t offer you much of that. I’d like to see him pin defenders more, focus on the least physically imposing centre back and really work them over. It’s not a part of his game that he’s really developed yet, but there’s no reason why he can’t add it to his game.
While he’s good with the ball at his feet in front of goal and when he’s looking to link up the play with short-range passes, Hugill leaves a fair amount to be desired when it comes to his ball carrying. He’s not the player that’s going to lead counter attacks for us, and if we’re defending a lead and sitting in deep I’m not convinced he’s the type of striker we’d want on the pitch.
With space to run into he’s fine, but there’s not a great deal of skill when he faces up a defender one on one. That shouldn’t be too much of an issue when you consider some of the players we’ll have around him, but it’s worth noting that Hugill has to be the man on the end of those attacks, and not a major part of the build-up.
As you’d expect from a 20-year-old centre forward with twelve EFL games under his belt there’s a lot of raw ability there. He’s got plenty of potential and a good amount of ability already, but we do need to be patient with him. I’m not expecting it to click straight away and nor should it, he’s got to settle in. That said, when you arrive from the biggest club in the country and take the number nine shirt you have to expect a certain amount of pressure to be placed on your shoulders. Let’s see how he handles it.
Potential Fit
Joe Hugill is a number nine who is best suited to playing the lone striker role, but very much relies on having runners outside him and playmakers behind him. He can lead the line on his own providing he has that support alongside him, and providing the game situation is suited to him. Against defences who leave space in behind he’ll be brilliant, particularly ones that play with a back four, he’ll be extremely useful.
We need him to focus on being the focal point of our attacks. I used to level some criticism at Will Keane for offering ‘nothing but goals’, which I still stand by to a large extent given the position and team he played in. However, from a number nine in Shaun Maloney’s Wigan team it’s very simple… just be there to finish off the chances we create.
And having a player of Hugill’s profile should make creating chances easier. Opponents will recognise Hugill’s threat in behind and drop off slightly, opening space up for him, Thelo Aasgaard, Chris Sze et al to pick up the ball in space in and around the penalty area. He makes us less one-dimensional which is crucial when looking to craft attacks.
As I touched on earlier there are questions to be asked about how threatening he’ll be against low blocks, especially teams with three centre halves. Not only is there less space to run into, there’s also one extra physical presence for him to deal with at the top end of the pitch. This is where he’ll have to use his intelligent movement and timing to get a yard of space in and around the box.
Final Thoughts
Well we’ve gone out and got ourselves a number nine to lead the line, it’s about time and with Joe Hugill up top I’m feeling fine.
His career to date won’t excite many people, and nor should it, because not many will have seen much of him play. One goal in 18 games (albeit just 987 minutes) at Burton isn’t special by any means, but context is everything. Horses for courses is a real thing, and I truly believe we suit Joe Hugill so much better than anywhere he’s been so far in his short career.
We needed a player like this. Quick off the mark, capable of holding up the ball and linking the play when necessary, hard-working and clinical in front of goal. They’re all qualities you want in a centre forward, and we haven’t had a striker who blends all of those attributes together in a long time. He doesn’t necessarily blend them all together as well as he might, yet, but that’s what loans are for. Development..
That said he has to make an impact at Latics. We’ve given him the number nine shirt which suggests to me that he’s our first choice striker for the season, and therefore I’m expecting him to push for double figures in the league. We shouldn’t heap pressure on his young shoulders, but as a youngster at Manchester United I’m sure he’s comfortable enough with having eyes on him.
Hugill and Stones are two really exciting young strikers, and two players with the abilities to transform how we attack next season. I’m exciting to see Joe Hugill in a Latics shirt next season, and I hope you are too!
Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Joe Hugill. Up the Tics!
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