Wigan Athletic closing in on QPR transfer capture | OneFootball

After selling Sam Tickle to Bristol City, Wigan Athletic are closing in on his replacement in a transfer deal with Queens Park Rangers...

Wigan Athletic may have found their answer to selling Sam Tickle via Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

Selling Sam Tickle to Bristol City was arguably necessary to rebuild the squad in numerous areas, with Wigan Athletic having signed Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullin, Akeel Higgins, Sonny Perkins, Connor Barrett, and Max Power to bolster their ranks so far.

But Tickle was one of the club's best players, having been Player of the Season back in 2023/24 and in the League One Team of the Season back in 2024/25. Replacing him will certainly not be easy.

Alongside Bristol City, QPR had also been in for Tickle, with Julien Stephan struggling for consistency in the goalkeeping department. They have released Ben Hamer and Paul Nardi this summer already, leaving Murphy Cooper and Joe Walsh as the club's only goalkeepers.

Wigan Athletic close in on signing QPR's Joe Walsh

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Wigan are eyeing their sixth summer transfer and it involves a QPR goalkeeper, with 21-year-old Tom Watson Gary Caldwell's only goalkeeper currently at the club.

Journalist Alan Nixon claims Wigan are signing QPR's Walsh on loan for the season. He states that Walsh has answered the call from the Latics to head to the north-west after he previously played for Accrington Stanley.

Wigan have been looking for a number one to come in from the loan market and Walsh is their man. It's also claimed that QPR want Walsh to get more first-team exposure.

Walsh has so far featured 31 times for QPR, keeping five clean sheets and conceding 56 goals in that time. Last season saw him keep four of those clean sheets and make 25 appearances, with Stephan struggling to nail down his first choice.

Walsh is from Kent and came through the ranks with Gillingham before sealing a permanent switch to QPR back in 2019. He has previously had loans with Hampton & Richmond Borough, Dorking Wanderers, Maidenhead United, and Accrington since joining the R's.

The 2026/27 season is a huge opportunity for Gary Caldwell and Wigan

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Since suffering relegation from the Championship, Wigan Athletic have finished 12th, 15th and most recently 16th in League One, demonstrating gradual regression in that time and still falling well short of where a club of their stature will expect to be.

The 2026/27 campaign has to be one in which the Latics begin looking upwards rather than simply consolidating their position in the division. Caldwell's return towards the end of last season has certainly provided reasons for optimism, with Wigan winning seven and drawing four of his 16 matches in charge to build genuine momentum heading into the summer.

However, encouraging form alone will not be enough in an increasingly competitive League One. Recruitment will undoubtedly be crucial, which is why Wigan have been so active already. If the club invest their resources wisely by adding quality in key areas, there is every chance they could mount a serious challenge for the play-offs.

Caldwell now needs to back up his impressive start by showing genuine ambition and helping restore Wigan to the promotion conversation. Does the signing of Walsh do that? This one feels like a risk given the consistency and dependability of Tickle. Was the loan market really Wigan's best option? His form has been alarming at QPR but he also needs games and experience to kick on.