Wigan Athletic struck double-promotion gold with Wolves deal | OneFootball

When Wigan Athletic signed Michael Jacobs back in 2015, even they could not have anticipated that he would go on to become a club hero

Wigan Athletic's finest glory day came in May 2013, when they defeated Manchester City at Wembley Stadium and were crowned FA Cup champions.

But just three days after their improbable cup triumph, the Latics suffered a 4-1 league defeat to Arsenal, which saw them relegated from the Premier League back to the Championship following a remarkable eight-year stay in the top-flight.

However, after seeing their side win a major trophy, a feat which many Latics fans may never have thought possible, the spirits of the Wigan faithful were not dampened, as they looked forward to a Europa League campaign which came as an apt reward for the club's cup-winning exploits.

But fast forwards to spring 2015, and the Greater Manchester outfit had suffered a second relegation in three years, and would be plying their trade in League One just over two years after their Wembley glory day.

The drop to the third tier saw then key players such as James McClean and long-serving goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi leave the Brick Community Stadium alongside several other high profile departures.

In fact, by the summer of 2015, the Latics had to begin a rebuild ahead of the 2015/16 League One season.

One signing the club made during this period was that of Michael Jacobs, who arrived in Greater Manchester from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year-deal for an undisclosed fee.

Jacobs went on to become a Latics hero

When the Latics signed Jacobs back in 2015, even they could not have anticipated that the former Northampton Town man would go on to become a modern-day hero, and an arguable club legend.

But by the end of his first season at the Brick Community Stadium, the winger had already helped the club win the League One title, a success which he greatly contributed towards with a strong return of 10 goals and seven assists.

The next chapter of Jacobs' Latics career would not go so smoothly, as, like his fellow teammates, he struggled to cope with the more testing demands of Championship football.

In fact, the early exchanges of the 2016/17 second tier campaign saw former Wigan boss Gary Caldwell dismissed of his duties, while Jacobs managed just three goals and four assists across the whole season, in which he made 43 appearances.

The Latics were relegated following a woeful 2016/17 term, but the 2017/18 League One season witnessed the wideman produce his best football yet again, as he scored 12 goals as well as creating seven assists in the third tier.

So, just shy of three years on from his arrival, Jacobs was a double League One title winner with the Greater Manchester outfit, whose 2018 success was arguably even more enjoyable than that of 2016, as the Tics won a whopping 98 points and beat local rivals Blackburn Rovers to the prize by just two points.

Remarkably for a third tier side, the Latics also reached the FA Cup quarter-final in 2018, and Jacobs played his part in this impressive cup run as he made six appearances and provided an assist in the process.

And following the success of the 2017/18 season, Wigan would prove to adjust far better to the Championship under the management of Paul Cook than that of Caldwell, landing an 18th place finish in the second tier, and crucially, 12 points above the drop zone.

Jacobs himself also performed much better in the Championship this time around, and scored four goals as well as creating four assists in just 22 appearances.

The subsequent 2019/20 campaign would end in disaster for the Latics, who were plunged into administration by former owner Stanley Choi, an event which saw the winger leave the club in favour of the more stable Portsmouth.

But the wideman still created more positive memories for the Brick Community Stadium faithful that season prior to his unfortunate departure, and scored what many supporters will deem the best goal he ever scored in Wigan colours.

In February 2020, the Greater Manchester outfit hammered Reading 3-0 away from home, and Jacobs sealed the deal with their third goal on 98 minutes, chipping then Royals goalkeeper Rafael from a seemingly impossible angle.

Portsmouth never saw what Wigan did of Jacobs

Following his impressive exploits for the Latics, Pompey, then of League One, would not have been unwise for thinking that signing the wideman on a free transfer was a major coup.

However, the former Wolves man never showed the Hampshire outfit the kind of form he had displayed for the Latics, while in his best ever season at Fratton Park he scored six goals and made four assists during the 2021/22 third tier season.

Jacobs left Pompey one summer prior to the club's 2023/24 League One title winning campaign to join Chesterfield, then of the National League.

And while the Englishman won promotion to the Football League with the Spireites and reunited with his former Wigan boss Cook, his time with the Latics, for whom he won two promotions, will go down as the finest spell of his career.