Wigan Athletic may look at January with Luton Town, Fulham regret | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic may regret the fact they did not sign Fulham's Kristian Sekularac, after Thelo Aasgaard joined Luton Town

Wigan Athletic had a busy January transfer window, and acquired the permanent additions of former Arsenal defender Josh Robinson, winger Joseph Hungbo, versatile defender Jon Mellish, and attacking midfielder Ronan Darcy.

In addition to that, the Latics signed striker Will Goodwin and winger Owen Dale on loan from Oxford United, while Blackpool midfielder Ollie Norburn also moved to the Brick Community Stadium on a loan deal.

But the defining moment of Wigan's transfer window arrived when former star man and academy graduate Thelo Aasgaard left the League One club to join Championship strugglers in a move first reported by Football League World.

Wigan may regret not making Fulham swoop following Aasgaard's Luton exit

The current campaign has not been a particularly memorable one for the Latics faithful, as the Greater Manchester outfit sit 16th in the third tier table, nine points above the drop zone, and 10 points adrift of the play-off places.

Furthermore, Shaun Maloney's men have largely struggled in front of goal this term, scoring just 27 times in 28 league fixtures, but the aforementioned Aasgaard was a real shining light for the Tics in this department.

Prior to his Luton departure, the Norway Under-21 international scored eight goals for the Latics in League One, and 12 goals in 31 appearances across all competitions, already beating last season's career-best return of nine.

So often this season, Maloney's side have turned to Aasgaard to emerge as the match winner, which is something they can no longer do after he opted to join the Hatters.

The Latics chose to replace the 22-year-old starlet with the previously mentioned Darcy, but a lot of responsibility now lies on the shoulders of a former Crawley Town man who was plying his trade in League Two just last season.

So far this term, Darcy has scored just one goal in 22 League One outings, which is a significantly lower output than the eight strikes Aasgaard notched in 26 third tier appearances.

However, it should also be noted that the ex-Crawley man has created five assists in the league this season, which is more impressive than the two made by the Norway international.

But ultimately, Aasgaard was Wigan's best outfield player prior to his departure, and has left very big shoes for Darcy alone to fill, and perhaps the Latics should have swooped for another creative ace to help make up for such a void.

One such player Maloney's men did cast their eyes on, as exclusively revealed by FLW, was Fulham youngster Kristian Sekularac, who is a regular goalscorer at Premier League 2 level for the West London outfit.

Darcy has an incredibly tough job on his hands in trying to emulate the success of his talented predecessor, but if the Latics had also signed Sekularac on loan from Fulham, it would have clearly alleviated a lot of that pressure.

Furthermore, the 21-year-old is clearly a highly gifted individual, who has represented Switzerland at Under-21 level, and also formerly plied his trade for the Juventus youth academy.

Wigan's FA Cup clash with Fulham hands Ronan Darcy a major opportunity to impress

The attacking midfielder did not play for former club Crawley in the FA Cup this campaign, meaning he is eligible to play in the fourth round for the Latics on Saturday.

Somewhat ironically, given Wigan's interest in Sekularac, Maloney's men welcome the Premier League Cottagers to the Brick Community Stadium this weekend.

Such an exciting clash with top-flight opposition hands Darcy a major opportunity to become an unlikely hero on just his second Latics appearance.

If the 24-year-old can spearhead his side towards an FA Cup shock, it would do his confidence the world of good, and would ease fears among supporters after Aasgaard's exit.

However, Maloney and co would still, arguably, be in a better position to push on without Aasgaard's services, if they had successfully landed a deal for Sekularac too.