Thelo Aasgaard expected to shine

In August 1995, Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen criticised then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson with a comment that went down in football folklore.

Hansen was speaking after Ferguson’s young side lost to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995-96 season.

United went on to win the Premier League and FA Cup that season with a team whose average age was 26-years-old.

Could Latics re-shaped and youthful squad have a similarly successful season in League One?

After last season’s relegation and financial difficulties under Phoenix 2021, manager Shaun Maloney has had to transform the squad into a more youthful profile.

The former Scottish international and assistant to Roberto Martinez at the Belgium national team is a great tactician and has already managed to create a positive feeling around the club for the forthcoming season.

Maloney wants to play a more attractive style of football which will rely on the energy and skills of younger players rather than an older age profile. It may take a while for the players to settle into the style but the desire to play football in this way will certainly appeal to the fans.

Signings and Loans

The eight new signings and loans have an average age of 23 and that includes 32-year-old Callum McManaman.

20-year-old Scottish centre-back Liam Morrison was signed on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich. The Scotland Under-21 player started out at Celtic but was recruited by Bayern and has played regularly for their B team.

Liam Morrison on loan from Bayern Munich

25-year-old former Burton Albion winger Jonny Smith signed permanently after making 77 appearances for the Brewers scoring nine goals.

Matt Smith, a 22-year-old midfielder from Arsenal signed permanently for Latics on a three-year contract after loan spells at Swindon Town, Charlton Athletic and Doncaster Rovers.

26-year-old versatile defender Sean Clare has made over 200 appearances in the EFL and was a free agent after leaving Charlton Athletic this summer has signed on a three-year deal.

19-year-old attacking midfielder James Balagizi signed from Premier League Liverpool for a season-long loan.

Balagizi is an England youth international who enjoyed a successful loan spell with League Two side Crawley Town last season.

22-year-old midfielder Liam Shaw signed for a season-long loan from Celtic. Shaw had a good loan spell with Morecambe, where he played over 30 games for the Shrimps.

23-year-old defender Kell Watts returns for his second loan spell at Latics after playing 35 games in the 2021/22 title winning season.

The Newcastle United youth product was on loan at Peterborough last season, although he had to overcome injuries which ruled him out for large parts of the year.

Watts, who had previous loan spells in League Two with Stevenage and Mansfield Town, before a move to Plymouth Argyle in 2021/22 where he made 50 appearances.

The only exception to Latics’ young recruitment profile has been McManaman. The Latics FA Cup winner will be attempting to resurrect his career after time in Australia and being released by Tranmere Rovers.

Academy products

Latics already have some excellent young players in Charlie Hughes, 19, and Thelo Aasgaard, 21, who have signed extended deals and are expected to shine in League One. Highly promising goalkeeper Sam Tickle, 21, will challenge for the Number One slot with Ben Amos.

While Academy players Scott Smith, Chris Sze, Josh Stones, Joe Adams, Baba Adeeko, Abdulrahman Sharif, Luke Brennan, Ethan Mitchell, Youssef Chentouf, James Carragher and Harry McHugh will all be looking to break into the starting line-up.

With Gregor Rioch in charge, the Latics Academy has paid dividends in the past and there is no reason to believe that it won’t continue to do so in the future.

Despite the emphasis on youth there is no doubt that Maloney will also require a few experienced heads. Jason Kerr will be returning from a long injury and the Republic of Ireland international James McClean will probably captain the team.

It’s fair to say that Latics are missing a prolific goalscorer after Will Keane’s departure to PNE. Charlie Wyke has not yet proved that he is fully fit, and Callum Lang, Stephen Humphrys and Josh Magennis will need to improve their goal contribution.

The departure of defender Jack Whatmough was disappointing but after the off-the-field revelations it was perhaps best for all parties that Whatmough left the club.

The eight-point deduction will certainly prove a handicap, but Latics are still capable of challenging for the play-offs. Even if they don’t make the play-offs this time, the future looks bright with a great crop of youngsters and a very good manager in charge.