Joseph Hungbo – Welcome to Wigan Athletic

I don’t know what’s got into the Latics hierarchy over Christmas, but it appears that the work behind the scenes that we were told about was seriously intense! We’re a few days into 2025 and the January transfer window and we are not wasting any time strengthening our squad. Our second permanent signing of the winter is here, in the form of dynamic winger Joseph Hungbo.

He joins us for an undisclosed six-figure fee from German second-division side 1. FC Nurnberg. While that sounds a bit adventurous he has spent the last six months in League One; for the side directly below Latics in the table Rotherham United.

With Championship experience at Watford and Huddersfield Town too Hungbo is a pretty well-known name in the EFL, and well travelled for a 24 year old. He’s a direct winger with good pace and power, just the kind of wide player Shaun Maloney likes to have. With the ball at his feet he can be really dangerous, but like all of our other wingers there’s still a rawness to him.

We’ve shown a hell of a lot of trust in his current and potential ability though. To part with a six-figure sum suggests he’s a player right at the top of Shaun Maloney’s wish list, and goes to show that there is money available for him to spend should the right player come along. He’s at the right age to develop too so there is plenty of sell-on value there should the time come to move on.

In this, and every ‘Welcome to Wigan Athletic’ article that I post this season, 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. Joseph Hungbo, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!

PROFILE

STRENGTHS

Like I touched on very briefly earlier, Joseph Hungbo is definitely Shaun Maloney’s type of winger. The nay-sayers among you are probably thinking ‘yeah, because he doesn’t score or assists,’ and while I commend you for your comedic genius I have to tell you there’s a hell of a lot of good about his game. A lot of his best attributes are harder to train than the areas of his game that, at the moment, are weaker.

One of those key attributes – in fact the area of his game that is probably the strongest – is his 1v1 dribbling ability. Not only does he have the explosive speed that would allow him to beat the majority of full backs in this league in a foot race, he also possesses nice close control and awareness when it comes to drawing defenders in – either to foul him or leave him space to move into.

Some of his best moments are when he teases opponents in before touching the ball away from them at the last moment – almost school playground esq. This is a really valuable skill to have because I feel our wingers are a touch predictable at the moment, and none of them are really foul winners. Be it easing pressure when ahead or earning us set-piece opportunities around the box it’s a great thing to have.

On top of that, providing he’s fit enough to do so, Hungbo is more than capable of getting himself up off the turf and delivering quality set-piece delivery himself – another thing we lack. There’s a free kick he scored for Ross County a few years ago that was just stupid so check that out. If he can pull some more of those out of the bag that’d be handy!

I think he’s been limited a touch by the systems he’s played in so far in his career, which have maybe hidden some of his talent in other areas. For example, he’s not the best crosser from deep but actually makes very decent decisions when it comes to playing cutbacks / clipped crosses from the by-line. Managers like Neil Warnock and Steve Evans are more ‘get it, cross it,’ while Maloney will want Hungbo to get into the box more which will suit him.

The Latics boss also wants a lot from his wingers off the ball, and again I think that’s something Hungbo will be comfortable with. First of all, you don’t play in Germany for a year without being able to put a shift in against the ball, and secondly, to mention them again, you don’t play for the likes of Neil Warnock and Steve Evans and get away with being lazy. He’s an industrious winger who isn’t afraid to put a shift in. If he wasn’t he simply wouldn’t have been signed.

LIMITATIONS

Look, it goes without saying that when a winger’s last goal contribution was in 2023 there are concerns to be had. While there is a hell of a lot to like about his skillset and a lot of the underlying data backs this move up entirely, as we’ve found out this season the most important thing is getting the ball in the back of the net. As of late he hasn’t been doing and that does need to change.

I don’t necessarily think the issue is poor finishing or bad end product though. His problem is more that he doesn’t get into good goal scoring or creating positions enough, and because he’s not an elite forward player that can lead to him snatching at chances. I actually think with a higher volume of shots he’d gain more confidence, and shrug off this issue in front of goal.

And while he has had decent EFL experience for a player of his age, not much of that game time involved him doing what he’s good at. I guess what we can take from that perhaps is that when the chips are down and a game isn’t going his way Joseph Hungbo isn’t the kind of player who’ll grab it by the scruff of the neck and force something for himself.

In that sense there’s a slight concern that he’s something of a luxury player – not in the usual sense of a Nick Powell who was ace on the ball but anonymous off it, but more in the sense that he needs his environment to right for him to be at his best. That’s not too unfamiliar really, but if you wanted a ‘sticks are down, something from nothing’ winger he’s probably not your man.

POTENTIAL FIT

As a left-footed winger his natural side is on the left, but not just as the classic old-school winger. He provides good width while also offering a genuine direct threat, with the ability to take on his man down the outside or inside. He’s not great with his right foot, but much better than Jonny Smith and therefore harder to predict and defend against.

I also like him on the left when Thelo Aasgaard plays just inside the pitch to him. While Hungbo offers the direct dribbling threat he could find Thelo on the left corner of the box with fairly simple passes, an area the Norwegian loves to shoot from. That’s a combo that could work nicely, and offsets the slight lack of threat Hungbo has when cutting in on his right.

He’s also played a lot of football on the right wing too, where he again threatens on the inside and outside of the full back. His right foot is more than good enough to clip crosses into the box with, so he’s not easy to stop when running at his man. That unpredictability helps him draw fouls and make space as discussed earlier too. Hungbo maybe doesn’t have the Jonny Smith signature long-range strike but is certainly still a goal threat from those kinds of positions too if he gets it right.

Hungbo can operate centrally too, but doesn’t quite have the level of tactical nous just yet to do the all-round game we’d need from him though. That said, don’t be surprised to see him operate here when we’re chasing a game, or when Thelo is out of the side for one reason or another. The same goes for him as a number nine too.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s another cracking signing for Latics, and this January window has started brilliantly. Joseph Hungbo brings plenty of pace, power, trickery and excitement to our ranks, as well as plenty of potential to grow into a serious EFL talent. If we can get some of that out of him he’ll be a cracking signing, and I trust Shaun Maloney to do so.

To commit a six-figure sum to the transfer shows a few things. We’re serious about improving this squad, and our owners aren’t the skimping types some fans have suggested. Shaun Maloney has serious faith in Joseph Hungbo and genuinely believes he’ll be a key play for us. And of course, the plan of buying low, developing them and selling players for profit is well underway.

The summer window, while there were some decent pick-ups, was not as good as it could / should have been. To be this early on in the January window with two key targets signed and secured on permanent contracts is seriously positive, and I hope the positivity continues. I also hope the positive reaction that ‘hopefully’ follows is as loud as the negative one that came after the summer.

Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Joseph Hungbo. Up the Tics!