Wigan Athletic: Latics supporters will be surprised if Blackpool deal works out: View | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic supporters would be surprised to see Ashley Fletcher become a success at Blackpool

Wigan Athletic are a club who are moving in the right direction again following a turbulent few years, as manager Shaun Maloney looks to launch a 2024/25 promotion bid.

But as recently as the 2022/23 Championship season, the Latics looked to be in big trouble, and were handed a three-point deduction by the EFL due to the fact that previous owner Abdulrahman Al Jasmi consistently failed to pay staff and player wages on time.

By the summer of 2023, Maloney's side found themselves subject to an HMRC winding up petition, but were saved by current owner Mike Danson, who has steadied the ship at the Brick Community Stadium.

On the pitch, matters were not much better for the Latics during 2022/23, and they would have been relegated regardless of their point deduction, largely thanks to a disastrous managerial tenure overseen by Kolo Toure midway through the season which followed a poor run of form under his predecessor Leam Richardson.

Last season re-instilled the Latics fanbase with hope, as their side were able to claim a top-half spot in League One, despite being placed under a transfer embargo due to the club's previous financial mismanagement.

But the disastrous 2022/23 campaign will still pain the Brick Community Stadium faithful, and one player who is associated with that tricky period of time is Ashley Fletcher.

Fletcher Blackpool success would surprise Latics supporters

The Tangerines recently announced the signing of Fletcher on a two-year deal, and Latics supporters will be surprised if the forward's move to the seaside proves to be a success.

The main reason why the Latics were relegated back to League One following the 2022/23 Championship season was due to their lack of potency in front of goal.

In fact, the Greater Manchester outfit managed to score just 38 goals in their 46 second tier games, and finished the season with a goal difference of -27, the joint-worst in the division that year.

Fletcher, then on loan from Watford, did very little to help the Latics address their goalscoring issues, and scored just two goals in 26 Championship appearances with the club.

He was no better while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season, as he failed to score in 23 Championship outings, but the Owls managed to avoid relegation regardless.

The 28-year-old has now left the Hornets on a permanent basis in an effort to revive his career, but Latics supporters would be surprised to see their former flop become a success with Blackpool.

Furthermore, the Tangerines will have lofty promotion ambitions following their own relegation from the Championship in 2023, while Fletcher's goalscoring record doesn't suggest that he's the man to fire them to a top-two spot.

Fletcher may not prove to be adequate Rhodes replacement at Blackpool

Last season, the Tangerines missed out on a play-off spot by just three points, but it was not due to a lack of goalscoring prowess, as Jordan Rhodes scored 15 goals in 29 league appearances on loan from Huddersfield Town.

If Neil Critchley's side are to launch a more successful promotion push in 2024/25, then they will need one of their forwards to replicate Rhodes' impressive efforts, and Latics fans would be surprised to see Fletcher manage to do that.