"Better than Aasgaard" - Surprise Wigan Athletic transfer claim made after raiding League One rivals | OneFootball

FLW's Wigan Athletic fan pundit has shared his thoughts on Crawley Town midfielder Ronan Darcy.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Wigan Athletic have moved swiftly in the transfer market to replace Thelo Aasgaard before the end of the January transfer window, landing Crawley Town playmaker Ronan Darcy.

Aasgaard signed for Championship strugglers Luton Town for a fee thought to be in excess of £3 million earlier this week, and it is vital that the Latics suitably replace the Norwegian during the final few days of the transfer window.

The 22-year-old scored eight goals and provided two assists for Wigan in League One this season prior to his departure, showing his importance to Shaun Maloney's side and meaning that the club had to bring in at least one new signing to make an impact in the final third in his absence.

It was reported Crawley Town midfielder Ronan Darcy was the Latics' top target, as per Wigan Today, and that deal has now been confirmed, with the 24-year-old - who plied his trade for bitter rivals Bolton Wanderers in the past - penning a two-and-a-half year deal.

Ronan Darcy dubbed better than Thelo Aasgaard following Wigan Athletic transfer

We asked our Wigan fan pundit, Corey Bissell, prior to the news being confirmed of Darcy's arrival as to whether this deal was underwhelming in comparison to the man he was replacing, given the fact he has only scored once this season for Crawley Town in the league - but the response was perhaps surprising.

"Ronan Darcy is a bit of a difficult one," Corey told FLW.

"When Thelo Aasgaard left, I felt that we can't replace him with one player directly. You can't replace one of the best players in League One immediately with a single player.

"I know we have been looking at Kristian Sekularac, a youngster from Fulham, as well as Ronan Darcy, and I think that will be the approach that we take, in that we will bring in two players to subsidise losing Aasgaard.

"With Darcy, obviously, people will look at his goal return, as that is what Aasgaard was known for, being a goalscorer for us, but I think he is a different style of player to Thelo Aasgaard, and I think he is one that could potentially suit our system more.

"Aasgaard is a great moments player, he is great for a goal, while with Ronan Darcy, his underlying numbers suggest that, creatively, he is better than Aasgaard in all honesty.

"He creates more big chances per 90 and he has more accurate passes in the opposition half, so he is a different player. He's not as much of a goalscorer, admittedly, but he could set up more chances for those around him.

"Judging a midfielder by their goal return I think is harsh. I think creatively, he is a very good player."

Ronan Darcy dubbed a good Aasgaard replacement but Wigan Athletic may add more

As Corey alluded to, it may be the case that Wigan bring in two players to fill the gap left by Aasgaard in their squad.

With the Latics having been linked with Fulham youngster Kristian Sekularac too, as per an FLW exclusive, it appears as though the club is looking to bolster both their creative and goalscoring options in midfield.

Darcy has provided five assists in League One for Crawley this season, which shows that he has an eye for a final pass rather than tending to go for goal himself, a suggestion which is backed up by the fact he has only scored once in the league this term.

Sekularac, on the other hand, seems to be a midfielder who knows where the back of the net is, as the 21-year-old has scored eight goals in 13 appearances in Premier League 2 for Fulham under-21's this term, as per the data available on Transfermarkt.com.

Shaun Maloney has one new face through the door though in the form of Darcy, and that is a positive start to the final few days of the window.