So, the day that we all knew was coming, but hoped never would, has finally arrived. It is now time for Charlie Hughes, the most exciting, high potential and valuable academy graduate in the history of Wigan Athletic, to move on and further his career away from the club that has been his home for the past seven years.
A shining light during an extremely difficult 18-month period for the club, the Golborne-born centre back has showcased himself as one of the most talented defenders in the EFL and received international recognition as well as an EFL Young Player of the Season award nomination last season.
With over 75 games for the club under his belt at the tender age of 20 it’s fair to say Hughes has made his mark on Latics despite his relatively short stay. A captain on several occasions last season, a fans favourite to many and a genuinely fantastic example to every single member of our academy, Charlie Hughes has represented Wigan Athletic wonderfully.
However, now it is time to move on. The saga of the summer is over, and it’s time for everyone to go our separate ways.
And now we are left with some questions. What is life without Charlie Hughes like for Latics, and what is life without Latics like for Charlie Hughes? Where does the defender’s career go from here, and why has he chosen a Championship play-off outsider as his next move? Is it a good move for all parties, or has one party had the other’s trousers down with the deal? What kind of player are Hull City getting, and what is next for Wigan Athletic after this new influx of cash?
My take on all of those questions and more follows. Agree? Disagree? Let me know, and enjoy!
WIGAN ATHLETIC – LIFE WITHOUT CHARLIE HUGHES
I actually think the Latics squad is well equipped to cope with the loss of Charlie Hughes. Obviously his exit is a blow, because he’s the best centre back in the league and has a profile that is almost impossible to replicate at this level. That said we have done a nice job of rebuilding our defensive options and arguably have a more well-rounded defence now than we did this time last season.
Firstly, and most importantly, we have a fully-fit Jason Kerr at the heart of our backline. The Scot was named club captain and is a top player at this level. With a full pre-season under his belt he looked good against Charlton on the opening day, and offers a level of steel and solidity that no one, not even Hughes, offered us last season.
The same can be said for Will Aimson, our summer signing from Exeter City. The early signs from the former Grecian are extremely positive and he’s shown a high level of quality with and without the ball. He’s a leader, he’s strong in his duels and he has a very decent range of passing which will fill the void left by Hughes’ exit, whose main attribute was his quality on the ball.
Another summer signing, albeit one we’re yet to see make his competitive debut for the club, is Toby Sibbick. He’s arrived from Hearts and adds a whole new set of attributes to our defensive unit, particularly physically. He’s quick, strong and agile enough to play in a high line, but also has a good footballing brain to go with it. Add in his technical suitability to our style of play and I think we’ve got a very exciting player on our hands with him.
And the final member of our centre back quartet is James Carragher, Charlie Hughes’ old partner in the youth teams. After a productive loan spell in Scotland last season the son of Liverpool-legend Jamie is ready to make his mark on the Latics first team, and looks like a solid option. He maybe lacks the easy-on-the-eye nature of Hughes, but there’s no doubting the defensive efficiency he possesses. It’s a very big season for the 21-year-old… almost make or break I’d say.
CHARLIE HUGHES – LIFE WITHOUT WIGAN ATHLETIC
Calling anywhere your home for seven years will leave you with a feeling of sadness when the time comes to leave. Charlie Hughes had a difficult time in junior football, being rejected by both Manchester City and Liverpool before he eventually walked through the door at Christopher Park in 2017. Who would have thought then it would be a multi-million pound move?
Undoubtedly the 20-year-old owes the club a hell of a lot. Be it Head of Youth Development turned Sporting Director Gregor Rioch, former Under 21’s manager Nick Chadwick or former Under 18’s gaffer Kieran Driscoll, Hughes’ development has been furthered immensely by the work of the staff in the Heatable Wigan Athletic Academy.
Equally, first team boss Shaun Maloney has shown huge trust in Hughes, and seems to have made the youngster comfortable and confident in our squad. That kind of thing should never be taken for granted because the environment you work in has a huge impact on how you perform. It is vital that Hughes settles in quickly and well at Hull, because he’s leaving home to go there.
From a footballing perspective I think Charlie Hughes did need to leave Latics to truly challenge himself. The Championship, especially at the top end, is as tough a division as you’ll find and if Hughes is going to become the player we all think he will be it’s vital that he faces off against top players week in, week out.
That said, he has to prove that he’s ready for the step up, because he’s no longer the academy graduate that everyone loves. He’s now the big money summer signing who is replacing an outgoing star, so there will be an unshakeable level of expectation placed on him immediately by Hull fans. They are also a lot more global than we are, so scrutiny will come from far and wide. It is a step up that he must take head on, but in [I’m assuming] a less forgiving environment.
WHY HULL?
Firstly, I do think get the feeling that some Latics fans are unaware of what’s going on at Hull right now, and has been for the past two-and-a-half years. This is a club on the up, with an incredibly wealthy and ambitious owner who is putting a hell of a lot of time, money and effort into taking The Tigers back to the Premier League. And if I’m honest they don’t seem too far away from making it.
Some of their recruitment over the last few transfer windows has been really impressive and they’re slowly building a strong Championship squad with a lot of potential. Notable names like Ryan Giles, Liam Millar and Cody Drameh are all young, talented players who are good enough to compete at the top of the division, with the potential to play at the top level. Charlie Hughes is no different.
Hughes arrives at the MKM Stadium as the obvious replacement for outgoing Hull City academy graduate Jacob Greaves, who has just joined Premier League newbies Ipswich Town for a fee believed to be in the region of £20m. The 23-year-old left sider was a standout performer in the Championship last season and fully deserved his shot at the big time.
And the hope for Hull and, providing a sell-on clause is included in the deal, Latics is that Hughes will follow suit. It’s clear that he will have more eyes on him playing for Hull in the Championship, and if he performs well enough the next logical step up will be to the Premier League. Then the transfer fees involved will really start to grow… just look at Greaves this summer.
And most importantly Hughes will play. This isn’t a Gelhardt, Weir or Devine move where they leave Latics to go and warm the bench elsewhere, Hughes arrives at Hull as their best centre back immediately and will be a key player for them almost immediately. If his development continues at a similar rate he will be a Premier League quality player in no time at all.
WHY IT IS A GOOD DEAL FOR LATICS
Firstly, and this is a point a lot of people seem to have forgotten, we are football club who make a big financial loss every season. We make nowhere near as much money as we’d like to through ticket sales for all sorts of reasons, and have a fan base who, on the whole, expect us to be competing at the top end of League One or higher. The truth is we can’t fund that… yet.
A financial loss of £13.4m for the financial year 2023 is eye watering to say the least. Obviously that came under the previous ownership and was a result of all of their ridiculous decisions, but the fact is we’re still feeling the impacts of their ridiculousness. We’ve only just shipped off the high earner from that era, but we still had to pay them their extortionate wages last season. Our estimated wage bill last year was around the £6m per annum mark. Our turnover in 2022, our League One winning year, was just £8.3m…
So yes, Mike Danson took over and wiped all of the debts. However, we’ve spent the last 14 months building more debts, albeit less than if the takeover hadn’t happened but still more than we can realistically cope with. As a result we have a hole to fill before we can commit more money to spend on the more exciting things.
The structure of the fee will be debated, but the generally accepted story, especially on the Wigan end, is that Hull have paid around £4m in full and up front, with more to follow in guaranteed add-ons. The add-ons haven’t really been confirmed anywhere but the number £7m has been floated around a lot, so my assumption is it’ll reach that figure at some point. I really can’t see the £3.5m release clause story being true to be honest.
And while I believe Charlie Hughes as a footballer is worth more than that, I’m not sure he’s worth more than that to Wigan at this very moment in time. Now I know that might sound mad, but remember the context of the situation. It would take him level, or at least very close to, Leighton Baines as our most profitable academy graduate ever. He goes into the top five biggest sales by a third division club ever. That simply has to be considered a good deal for Latics.
WHY IT IS A GOOD DEAL FOR HULL
Let’s say Hull City have signed Charlie Hughes for £7m, I’d suggest he’s already worth £10m just by being there. A seriously rich club in the Championship has more bargaining power than a League One club trying to rebuild from two near-death experiences, that’s simple facts. So in that sense alone it’s a quality bit of business by The Tigers.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Hull will sell him for a considerable profit within the next two-and-a-half years. He’s a future England international and has the exact kind of profile that the biggest clubs in the country want in their side. We know that homegrown players carry a lot of value and that should work in Hull’s favour when it comes to commanding a fee.
It’s also great business by Hull because they’ve replaced their own academy graduate with a younger player who has a higher ceiling, and really isn’t far behind him in terms of current ability. To make over £10m profit on a centre back exchange and not be hurt much in the short term, as well as benefit greatly in the long term is fantastic work by everyone involved at The Tigers.
WHAT KIND OF PLAYER ARE HULL GETTING?
A superstar. Charlie Hughes possesses almost every single attribute you’d want in a modern-day defender, and is only going to get better too. He’s a right-footed player but has experience playing at left, middle and right centre back across a number of three and four at the back formations. Ignore his Wikipedia though, because he’s not a player you’d want to use in centre midfield. He did it occasionally at youth level I believe, but he’s a centre back. That’s that!
He’s the perfect centre back for a side that want to play attacking football because his passing range is seriously good. He’s just as capable of playing simple but effective short passes as he is a 60-yard ping out to a winger on the opposite side of the pitch. He passes at a variety of speeds, distances and does so from anywhere across the back line. He’s a Premier League passer.
Hughes also has the ability, and more importantly the confidence, to carry the ball forward too. He’s really good at accelerating, decelerating and accelerating again to bait presses and beat them with his dribbling. If he’s not passing the ball past you he’s taking it past you which must be demoralising for an opposition forward line, particularly those whose press is a bit half-arsed.
Defensively he does everything you’d want him too, and is definitely improving quickest in this area of his game. He’s a wonderful channel defender and is comfortable against wingers, probably more so than he is against a real bull of a centre forward. His physical attributes are decent but not standout, but he’s getting better at using them to his advantage.
There’s still a little bit of naivety to his game, but he is 20 so that’s not unsurprising. I’d like to see him become totally dominant in duels because that’s the only area of his game he didn’t really excel at last season, and the Championship is going to be even tougher for him. If he can add an imperious defensive aura to his elite technical abilities he’ll be a serious, serious player.
WHAT NEXT FOR LATICS?
It’s simple really. Wigan Athletic have to sort themselves out off the field before they can sort themselves out on the field. What I mean by that is, it’s all well and good calling for a squad to be built to challenge for a promotion to the Championship, but if the infrastructure isn’t there beneath the first team to support a sustained push in the second tier everything will come tumbling down.
Think of the old parable, ‘The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock.’ For too many years Latics have been trying to build skyscrapers on sand, so to see his trying to sort the core foundations of the club out is encouraging because it means there will be a Wigan Athletic to support for years to come. This is the biggest sale we’ve made since 2017 and it’s absolutely necessary.
Firstly, I think we all need to understand that the majority of this money will go straight out of the door to pay the bills that kept ramping up last season. We’re aiming to be self-sustainable as a football club now and the very nature of self-sustainability means the money we spend is the money we make.
What also could be worth considering is that Mike Danson, a man who has made gigantic amounts of money in his life, is going to be more willing to invest in something if he sees that it is a secure business. Would you be more likely to put your money into a company that lost nearly £10m a year, or one that came close to breaking even? It’s a pretty obvious answer, but I do think it’s important to think about.
There will be discussions regarding immediate investment in the first team squad, and it’s undeniable that we are short in key areas. The problem is the later we go into the window the more money it’s going to take to get clubs to sell their players, and that’s even more the case in key positions like centre forward. We need a top class striker, but they cost money at the best of times. We don’t want to undo all of our good work getting this fee for Hughes and waste it on a rushed signing to fill a gap.
So yes I want us to sign a new striker, and there will be some money put into the transfer budget to allow Shaun Maloney to sign what he thinks he needs. That said, unless the circumstances are completely suitable for us I think the best bet is to stick with what we have for now. I know the ‘aim’ is top six but we have to be realistic, this is going to be another, and hopefully the final, season of development and for want of a better word, getting our shit in order.
It’s always sad to see an academy graduate go, but it should fill us with as much pride as it does pain. Seven years ago a Wigan Athletic scout took a chance on a 13-year-old still stinging from a double academy rejection, and that decision has gone on to make the club several millions of pounds. Now we must go about finding the next one.
Through the hard work of the player, his family and everyone at the football club we have developed a player who, baring some seriously unfortunate circumstances, will go on to play international football and represent our football club on the biggest stage. From Christopher Park to St George’s Park, and beyond.
Charlie Hughes, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you.
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