"Ryan Lowe will not stand for that" - Wigan Athletic told to fix transfer "issue" | OneFootball

FLW's Wigan Athletic fan pundit does not want to see the club bring in too many loan players next season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Wigan Athletic have endured an underwhelming 2024/25 League One campaign.

The Latics parted company with manager Shaun Maloney in March with the club sitting 15th in the table. They now find themselves 16th under new boss Ryan Lowe with two games remaining, so they will no doubt be looking ahead to next season with ambitions of being closer to the top end of the division.

Wigan received a significant transfer fee from Hull City for the sale of Charlie Hughes last summer, before Luton Town also spent a seven-figure fee to sign Thelo Aasgaard in January, which has enabled the club to bring in a few permanent additions over the course of the campaign.

However, looking back, there were a number of disappointing signings made last summer, particularly in the loan market, which could be seen as a key reason why the season has not quite panned out in the way that everyone associated with the club would have liked.

Wigan urged to reconsider recruitment model

We asked our Wigan fan pundit, Corey Bissell, what one issue the club needs to fix as a priority ahead of next season, and he pointed towards bringing in players who can have a long-term impact rather than making temporary loan signings.

"One issue that I would say we probably need to fix going into next season, and I think we will fix, is perhaps our recruitment model," Corey said.

"I think last summer we recruited a lot of Premier League loanees - there were a lot of loans - which, obviously, for building a long-term squad does not particularly bode very well all of the time.

"You lose those players, you get a high player turnover, and then how can you really progress? I think we kind of addressed that in January to be honest, but it is something that we need to remember going into the summer as it did not go particularly well.

"We need to make sure that we do not make that same mistake again, and I think we will make sure that we do not make that same mistake again.

"Ryan Lowe will not stand for that. I think the board will have learnt from their mistakes as well."

Wigan must build on January transfer window

Wigan invested in their playing squad during the January transfer window by bringing in the likes of Ronan Darcy from Crawley Town, Joseph Hungbo from 1.FC Nuremberg and Josh Robinson from Arsenal.

Those signings suggest that the Latics could look to sign more players of that profile in terms of age and potential during the upcoming summer transfer window, which would align with Corey's opinion that the club needs to build a squad for the long-term.

Wigan took six players on loan from Premier League clubs and another three from those within the EFL over the course of the current campaign, and given that it has not led to any real success, it would be no surprise to see the club change their recruitment strategy this summer.