Wigan Athletic told to sign ex-Middlesbrough man to replace Matt Smith | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic have been backed to sign a former Middlesbrough and Rotherham United midfielder

Wigan Athletic have already been busy in the summer transfer market, having completed a deal to sign midfielder Max Power from League One rivals Bradford City.

The Latics' deal for Power marks the start of his third spell at the Brick Community Stadium, and he has already won three third-tier titles with the Greater Manchester side.

Wigan still have plenty more work to do in the summer transfer window, though, as they were involved in the League One relegation battle last season.

Furthermore, this summer marks boss Gary Caldwell's first transfer window since returning to the Brick Community Stadium to replace Ryan Lowe.

Wigan Athletic told to strengthen midfield with free transfer acquisition

Action Images

The Latics must still strengthen their midfield this summer despite the aforementioned deal for Power, who is likely to be a regular starter in League One, having captained Bradford to the play-offs last season.

Fellow midfielders Jensen Weir and Matt Smith are both yet to sign a new contract with Wigan, meaning they could leave on a free transfer this summer.

Meanwhile, Callum Wright was only on loan in Greater Manchester from Plymouth Argyle last season, and the Latics are yet to make a move regarding his permanent future following the expiration of his Pilgrims deal.

Football League World asked our Wigan fan pundit, Corey Bissell, out of the potentially realistic free transfers available to his club this summer, which he would like to see them land, and why.

Bissell told FLW: "Out of that list, I'd probably go for Dan Barlaser. He was a really good player in League One, controls the tempo of games quite well, and gets about a fair amount in midfield.

"Obviously, we play that double pivot in the 3-4-3, so I'd quite like Dan Barlaser if I was to pick from that group of players. He'd be a decent replacement for Matt Smith, probably a Championship player in all honesty.

"I know he's not necessarily had the most game time over the last couple of seasons, but I imagine dropping to League One, he'd be able to recapture that form from Rotherham, and dictate games like he used to."

Dan Barlaser would be a shrewd addition for Wigan

Action Images

Wigan have plenty of work to do in the summer transfer market as last season's top scorer, Joe Taylor, who only joined on loan from Huddersfield Town in January, appears unlikely to stay at the Brick Community Stadium permanently.

Without Taylor's 11 goals in 21 League One appearances for the Latics, they would have likely suffered relegation to League Two alongside the likes of Northampton Town.

Meanwhile, as exclusively revealed by Football League World, Bristol City have joined Queens Park Rangers in the race to sign Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle.

Tickle has been a top performer for the North West club in each of the last three seasons, and losing his services would be a big loss for Caldwell's side.

The Latics will also need to acquire a new midfielder should Smith depart this summer, but Barlaser could prove to be an ideal replacement for the former Arsenal man.

As Bissell alluded to, Barlaser fell out of favour with Middlesbrough in recent months, spending last season on loan with Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership.

However, he was previously a star player in League One for Rotherham and would complement Power well in the Wigan midfield.