Wigan Athletic should offer 30-year-old a chance to prove Portsmouth wrong: View | OneFootball

Joe Rafferty played a vital role in Portsmouth's 2023/24 League One title triumph, making 39 appearances, starting on 36 occasions, and providing four assists on top of his defensive contributions.

The defender had an impressive season with the Hampshire outfit and as his stats on FotMob show, was a reliable performer for John Mousinho – winning 65.1% of his tackles, 55.7 of his duels, and completing 76.3% of his passes.

Despite being a mainstay during a title-winning campaign with Pompey, the 30-year-old has been released by the club, and will not be joining Mousinho and co on their Championship journey.

Alan Nixon revealed via Patreon that Wigan Athletic are keen on the defender following his release, and the Latics could offer Rafferty the opportunity to prove his former club wrong.

Latics should offer Rafferty redemption opportunity

The Portsmouth News reported that the former Preston North End man was left "shocked" and "gutted" by his Pompey exit, which suggests he may be hungry to prove a point to his former employers should he head to the Latics.

Rafferty would add some much-needed experience to Shaun Maloney's backline, a quality the side's defence could be lacking, as Jason Kerr's contract renewal talks remain ongoing, while Charlie Goode's loan deal at the Brick Community Stadium expired at the end of the season.

Maloney recently revealed that he is eyeing a top-six challenge for the 2024/25 campaign and signing a player who has just won the League One title would be a real statement of intent.

If Rafferty is successful for the Latics in the third tier, then he may well prove Pompey were wrong to let him go. He was seemingly deemed not good enough for the Championship by Mousinho and a successful promotion push with Wigan in 2024/25 could give him the chance to show he can cut in in the second tier while that might even come at his former club's expense if they're unable to stay up.

Due to the 30-year-old's quality, this is an opportunity that the Latics should hand the man who made 68 appearances across two seasons at Fratton Park in all competitions.

The possibility of signing a top-quality League One defender, with the sort of experience that very few of Maloney's current crop of players boast, is an opportunity that they must not pass up if they are serious about mounting a top-six challenge next campaign.

Rafferty could be keen on a Wigan move

Under Maloney's management, the Latics have played an attractive brand of possession-based football, which could be an enticing prospect for Rafferty.

Furthermore, one of the club's biggest starlets is central defender Charlie Hughes, who has been linked with moves to West Ham, Brentford, and Ipswich Town, so there could be an obvious vacancy in Maloney's starting XI for Rafferty to fill.

The 30-year-old is from Liverpool, and prior to his move to Pompey, he had previously plied his trade in the North West with Rochdale and Preston North End, so a move to the Latics would offer him an opportunity to move closer to home once again.

This is a potential win-win situation. Rafferty would be a solid addition to his prospective employers, as an experienced defender who has played in the Championship as well as League One and could offer tutelage to Maloney's youthful team.

Meanwhile, his pass accuracy could be a real asset for a side who enjoy playing out from the back, and above all, the winning mentality he could bring to Greater Manchester, after lifting the League One title with Pompey, could be very useful for a Latics side in their quest for a 2024/25 play-off spot.