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Sam Morsy is a modern day Wigan Athletic hero who won two League One titles with the Latics

Ipswich Town midfielder Sam Morsy will be best remembered for captaining the Tractor Boys to the remarkable feat of back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, a tale which captured the imaginations of EFL supporters up and down the country.

But prior to his notable exploits in Suffolk, Morsy was also a highly thought of figure during his time with former club Wigan Athletic, who he first joined in January 2016 and remained with until leaving to join Middlesbrough during the summer of 2020, when the Greater Manchester club were placed into administration.

Sam Morsy is a modern-day Wigan Athletic hero

There was a feeling of negativity surrounding the Latics ahead of the 2015/16 League One campaign, as the club had just suffered relegation from the Championship only two years on from winning the FA Cup as a Premier League outfit in 2013.

But by the halfway stage of the season, the Brick Community Stadium side were sitting pretty in the third tier, with automatic promotion back to the second tier looking likely thanks to the efforts of star players, such as prolific striker Will Grigg and midfield ace Max Power.

Like many League One title-winning teams over the years, though, the Latics knew that in order to seal silverware, and a place in the next season's Championship, they would have to enjoy a successful transfer window come January 2016.

And under the stewardship of then manager Gary Galdwell, Wigan managed to do exactly that, while their most successful mid-season addition that campaign was undoubtedly that of Morsy.

The Egypt international joined the Latics on a permanent deal from Chesterfield, for whom he made over 100 appearances during a three-year spell.

Morsy experienced no difficulty in breaking into a Latics side who already boasted serious automatic promotion credentials, and made 16 League One appearances during the latter half of the season as Caldwell's men went on to lift the third tier title, while his maiden Tics goal came during a 4-1 win at Swindon Town in March 2016.

However, following Wigan's promotion from League One to the Championship, Caldwell made the largely unpopular decision to loan Morsy out to then-second-tier rivals Barnsley.

But by October 2016, former Latics chairman David Sharpe made the decision to sack the manager, and the midfielder was recalled from his loan spell in South Yorkshire in January 2017.

During the second half of the 2016/17 season, the Greater Manchester outfit enjoyed the battling presence of Morsy, but it wasn't enough to stave off the threat of an immediate relegation back to League One.

Come the 2017/18 campaign, though, a much happier tale would be written for the Egyptian international and the Latics, as the club won their second third-tier title in three seasons, and reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The former Chesterfield man was vital to both of these success stories, as he made 41 appearances for the Tics in League One, as well as six FA Cup outings, while he then went on to represent Egypt during the 2018 World Cup.

But in terms of his Wigan career, the best was still yet to come for Morsy, who helped the North West side finally establish themselves as a solid Championship outfit during the 2018/19 campaign, in which they finished 12 points above the relegation zone.

It was painful for Sam Morsy that his Latics career ended in tough circumstances

In a footballing sense, things were even better for the Latics during the 2019/20 Championship season, thanks to the successful management of former boss Paul Cook.

If it wasn't for a 12-point-deduction, handed to the club due to the fact they had been plunged into administration by their then Hong Kong-based owners, Cook's men would have finished 13th in the second-tier table.

Meanwhile, as the club were engulfed by financial turmoil, Morsy took the decision to call time on his Latics career, and move to a much more stable Middlesbrough outfit, but the midfielder did so with a heavy heart, and penned an emotional message to Latics supporters.

But while the former club captain's time at the Brick Community Stadium came to an unhappy ending, fans of the club should never forget his efforts, which helped them to two League One titles, and a historic FA Cup run.

The Latics have arguably never recruited a better January signing than Morsy, who always gave his all for the club, since his arrival from Chesterfield in 2016.