Wigan Athletic send bittersweet message to Blackpool fc over unwanted signing

As Wigan Athletic prepare to challenge for a top six spot in the 2024/25 League One season, the Latics added experience to their young squad by signing 30-year-old Will Aimson from Exeter City on Monday. While manager Shaun Maloney and his recruitment team have been relatively busy during the transfer window, bringing in the likes of Dion Rankine from Chelsea on a permanent deal, and securing the loan signing of Michael Olakigbe and Calvin Ramsay from Brentford and Liverpool respectively, it is imperative that the Greater Manchester club sign a striker before the new campaign gets underway next month.

Kyle Joseph signing would be bittersweet for Wigan Athletic fans

The 22-year-old, who came through the Latics programme, was seen as a promising young player within the team after making appearances for the Scotland Under-19s on the international stage.

Nevertheless, the supporters at Brick Community Stadium had very little opportunity to witness their hero in first-team action as he only had one senior season with the Tics. Regrettably, this season fell under the club’s administration for much of the 2020–21 campaign.

After last season’s end, the contracts of offensive trio Josh Magennis, Stephen Humphrys, and Charlie Wyke expired, leaving the inexperienced Josh Stones as the Latics’ sole starting striker for the time being.

Chris Sze, a product of the youth academy, started last weekend’s preseason friendly against Accrington Stanley as a number nine, but it is still clear that Maloney has to add a fresh forward to the mix. Football Insider reports that the Latics have placed a bid for Kyle Joseph of Blackpool in their hunt for a goal striker.

Moreover, no Latics fan could see Joseph’s five League One goals in eighteen third-tier outings in person because of the strict COVID laws that were in place at the time.

The summer of 2021 witnessed the Greater Manchester side experience a re-build as they recovered from administration, and one unfortunate by-product was that the young forward was sold to Championship outfit Swansea City. The former Scotland youth international never hit the ground running with the Swans, but he proved his class during a 2022/23 loan spell with Oxford United when he scored nine goals in 37 League One appearances. However, Joseph has not managed to hit those sorts of figures again, as he scored just one goal in th

e third tier for Blackpool last season after signing on a permanent basis in the summer of 2023.

Given that he produced five assists in 30 League One games, it might be claimed that the youthful player was able to provide the Tangerines with a modicum of creativity.

If the Latics sign the ace, they may be able to bring him back to his peak. However, fans will likely feel mixed feelings about this because Joseph could have been a great first-team player for Wigan for years already, having come through the academy.

Kyle Joseph could flourish in Shaun Maloney’s Wigan Athletic set-up

Last season was Maloney’s first full campaign in charge of the Latics, and although it was heavily dictated by the club’s transfer embargo, the Scot has instilled a heavy onus on young, up-and-coming players.

The likes of England youth internationals Sam Tickle and Charlie Hughes, who both came through the Tics academy, have absolutely thrived under Maloney’s stewardship.

Joseph’s lack of goalscoring prowess at Bloomfield Road indicates that he is in need of a change of scene, while his former club, who are in need of a fresh forward, could be an ideal destination for him at this stage in his career.

It is clear that younger players will get their chances under Maloney, and with just Stones as the main out-and-out option at the club right now for the Latics, Joseph’s potential return would surely be welcomed by many.