Wigan Athletic and Shaun Maloney will want to avoid Darron Gibson error: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Following a transfer embargo hit campaign, Wigan Athletic finished 12th in the 2023/24 League One table with manager Shaun Maloney was heavily reliant upon the club's youth academy graduates.

The Latics had a decent season thanks to talented academy products such as Charlie Hughes and Sam Tickle, who have both represented England at youth level in recent months.

But the side's recent retained list confirmed the departures of experienced players Ben Amos, Tom Pearce, Josh Magennis, Charlie Wyke and the club's League One top scorer for the 2023/24 season, Stephen Humphrys, leaving the club with a young core group of players.

As a result, it is imperative that Maloney brings experienced players to the Brick Community Stadium this summer, as the Latics look to mount a 2024/25 play-off push.

However, the former Hibernian boss should be keen to avoid replicating an error that the Greater Manchester outfit made in summer transfer recruitment back in 2018.

Darron Gibson signing was an error

The Latics signed Darron Gibson as a free agent in the summer of 2018, after winning promotion to the Championship following a title-winning 2017/18 League One season.

Then manager Paul Cook would have hoped that Gibson would bring his side some much-needed experience as they looked to avoid the drop to the third tier.

The Latics were successful in achieving this goal, finishing 18th in the 2018/19 Championship table, a season in which Reece James starred in a loan spell from Chelsea.

However, former Manchester United and Everton man Gibson did not impress in Wigan colours, as he made just 18 Championship appearances and 11 starts for Cook's side.

According to FotMob, the midfielder played just 1,020 minutes for the Latics and while he didn't make a single goal contribution, supporters will remember the red card he received during a 4-0 thrashing by North West rivals Preston North End back in October 2018.

The Greater Manchester side were losing 2-0 early on in the second half, but Gibson's red card opened the floodgates for Preston, who went on to win by four thanks to late goals by Paul Gallagher and Callum Robinson, who scored a brace that afternoon.

Gibson signed a short-term deal with the Latics, who chose not to renew his contract following his unsuccessful 2018/19 campaign, and the ex-Evertonian went on to join League Two outfit Salford City in February 2020.

Latics and Maloney must avoid Gibson repeat

While Maloney should look to sign experienced players this summer, due to the low average age among his current playing squad, Gibson's short spell with Latics is a warning that experienced players do not always have a positive impact.

It could be tempting for the former Belgium assistant coach to go out and sign a few experienced players as soon as possible but such additions must be carefully chosen.

However, Latics fans ought not to be worried about the club's potential transfer business this summer, after Maloney recently made it clear that he is very specific about the sort of profile he is looking to bring to the Brick Community Stadium this summer.

While supporters will hope that experienced players are included in these plans, Gibson is evidence that sometimes experienced players with big reputations are not always the correct option.