Jensen Weir – Welcome to Wigan Athletic

As home comings go, this one has to be up there with one of the most satisfying in recent memory. At the club from a young age, became the youngest player in our history aged just 15 (fifteen), developed into such a promising talent that a Premier League club paid £500k to us for him in our darkest hour, and then after continuing his progression returned home. Beautiful!

Jensen Weir is back at Latics, joining on a two-year-deal from Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee. That’s right folks, put your pitchforks away and stop printing off your ‘Lost: McCarthy Money’ posters because a fee has been spent on a player, and a really good one at that. This is a signing I’ve wanted us to make for a long time.

Not only is he ‘one of our own’, he’s also bloody good. In terms of your traditional ‘box-to-box’ midfielder you genuinely won’t find many more suited than Jensen Weir. He’s as comfortable on the ball as he is off it, always keen to impact the game in any way and has the energy to be as impactful in the 90th minute as he is in the 1st.

To get him back permanently gives us the chance to see how far he’s come since he left us four years ago, and hopefully help him develop further. The short contract length, which seems to be the way with all our signings this summer for whatever reason, isn’t ideal in my opinion, but the fact of the matter is he’ll play a big part for us during that time, and hopefully beyond.

Oh, and it’s another of my Sensible Transfer picks that have been signed! A tap in I know, but I’ll take what I can!

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. Jensen Weir, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!

Profile

Strengths

Jensen Weir can do a bit of everything in fairness to him, but there are certainly some aspects of his game that he excels at. While he’s best described as an ‘all-rounder’, ‘box-to-box’ type midfielder, he’s someone that is best with the ball at his feet. He’s not dissimilar to Max Power in the sense that he can play most roles in the engine room, but yiu want to get him in certain areas of the pitch as often as possible.

Weir’s major strength is his vision and long-range passing / crossing from the right side of the pitch. With the way we play currently he should be able to find himself in the right half space, from which he’s brilliant at delivering incisive passes to all areas. He puts good disguise on his passes and links up well with the players inside and outside him, demonstrating excellent tactical understanding when rotating positions at times.

His deliveries in the final third are more accurate than most in the division, and he should ease the reliance we have on Matt Smith to create from deep. While Baba Adeeko excels out of possession in his new more advanced midfield position, there are limitations to his game creatively. Weir plays the same position, but has a more advanced technical game and will create more chances from that position.

Another reason we’ve brought Weir back is how he handles the ball in tight areas, because more and more we’re asking our players to take possession under pressure. He uses his body fairly well to shield the ball, and can carry it forward elegantly if he beats his man on the turn. He is forward thinking, and while I’m sure there will be pressure on him to retain the ball more here than his previous loans, I do hope we don’t put a limit on his natural progressive game.

His long-range shooting is impressive too, and his career highlight reel includes a lot of satisfying ball striking. Weir netted 11 goals during his loan spell at Morecambe and they came in all different forms. Some showed off his ability to score from distance, but there were a fair few ‘poacher’ like goals that proved he can play higher up the pitch. Again, it’s why he’ll suit our system so much because he should get a variety of shooting opportunities.

And importantly, Weir does good work off the ball too. I mentioned how important Adeeko is to us as that high-energy, aggressive number eight, and the hope is Weir can be the same. His numbers last season as a ‘pressing midfielder’ were very impressive, ranking highly for recoveries high up the pitch. His energy and work-rate, combined with an ever-improving physicality and aggression ensures he won’t hurt us off the ball.

Limitations

I think the major criticism Weir received during what can only be described as a difficult loan spell at Port Vale is his lack of general presence in the midfield. Be it physically looking a little off the pace, or maybe being a little short on confidence when it came to receiving the ball, I just don’t think it worked for him there.

And in fairness, based on how rubbish Port Vale were I’m happy to give him the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes the environment is more detrimental than anything else, and I’m encouraged by the reports he’s had from his time elsewhere. The general consensus is he’s a player who needs to be settled to perform at his best, and that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for us.

While I do think it’s a part of his game that he’ll improve quickly, I am slightly concerned that Weir comes in as another slightly naïve young midfielder. We’re still lacking that old head, brute of a ball winner in the engine room who will really stick it up the opposition, and while he isn’t a pushover it’s fair to say Weir doesn’t fit that profile that we’re desperate for.

As I’ve mentioned he does like to get on the ball and play wherever he is on the pitch, but isn’t always 100 per cent wary of his surroundings. He’s prone to playing with his head down a bit too much when he picks up the ball, leaving him vulnerable to having the ball nicked off him by a blindside defender. He could really do with adding the Matt Smith scan to his game.

With a player like this you have to take the rough with the smooth, because there’s an awful lot more smooth than there is rough! I do believe he’s as close as we’ll get to a complete midfielder, but ultimately he’s in League One for a reason and has some strides to make before he reaches the potential we expected him to. It does feel like this is the perfect environment for him to kick on in though, so fingers crossed.

Potential Fit

Jensen Weir could actually play as a six, an eight or a ten for Latics. As a six he might not offer the guile and business on the ball that Matt Smith does, but would offer a bit more defensive solidity and keep us ticking over in possession. As an eight he maybe lacks the non-stop hustle and tactical understanding of Baba Adeeko out of possession, but adds more quality on the ball high up the pitch. And as a ten, he’s not an enigma like Thelo Aasgaard, but he can impact games in a number of ways high up the pitch.

I expect him to be used in rotation with Baba Adeeko for the most part. In games that we want to dominate the ball in Weir will be the best bet as his attributes are more suited to pushing up as part of the last line. Then in games where we expect to be against the ball a fair bit, like tomorrow at Birmingham City for example, Adeeko is the better bet. That said, Weir would not be a bad option at all either.

As the right centre midfielder a lot will be asked of Weir on the ball. He will need to hold the middle of the pitch if someone like Calvin Ramsay is playing at right back as he’s a more natural overlapper, but should still expect to rotate into wide areas when the opportunity allows. Weir is someone that should do this comfortably, and will enjoy the freedom as it should hopefully free him up into those crossing positions that I mentioned earlier.

When pushing right up onto the last line, which I expect him to do in games where we’re looking to dominate the ball, his on the ball bravery will be challenged. Weir will need to take the ball with a player on his back, but can use his 360* vision and disguised passes to slip in the winger or striker either side of him. This is also the area of the pitch he should score the most goals from, and it’s the position he played so well in for Morecambe.

Final Thoughts

I’m such a big fan of this signing. Not only does he add a profile to our midfield that we were lacking (yes, I know we’re still missing a shithouse, relax for a moment), but he also brings a much-needed dose of happiness to our fanbase after a fairly tumultuous few weeks. Who can’t be happy about one of our own returning home with a point to prove?

Jensen Weir will improve us massively, and suits the way we play down to the ground. I’m a huge fan of Baba Adeeko, but in the more advanced role that he’s been used in this season I do believe Jensen is ahead of him currently. He’s got the game to play a number of roles in the engine room and adds great depth alongside Matt Smith, Baba Adeeko, Scott Smith and Tyreece Francois.

I’m not delighted by the two-year-deal, but after seeing that he’s represented by the same agent as Charlie Hughes and Thelo Aasgaard it maybe isn’t surprising given the issues we’ve had with them. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if a contract extension is signed before the end of the season, because if this lad gets in the team I can’t see him dropping out of it very often, fitness permitting.

I guess the most difficult part of this deal is the fact that he arrives, if we’re honest, having not fulfilled the potential we all assumed he had. That said, his career is still very much in its infancy and he shouldn’t need much time at all to bed himself in. With the majority of his career ahead of him, how good would it be to see one of our own break onto the scene with a string of great performances in our first team… again?!

Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Jensen Weir. Up the Tics!