Posh wonderkid signs for Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic have beaten off serious Premier League interest to land Peterborough wonderkid Leonardo Da Silva Lopes for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.
Leonardo Da Silva LopesLeonardo Da Silva Lopes
Leonardo Da Silva Lopes

The 19-year-old midfielder has signed a four-year deal with Latics, and boss Paul Cook could not hide his delight at pulling off such a coup.

“Leo has been one of the best young players in the EFL over the past couple of seasons,” gushed Cook.

“And this is a really strong addition to our squad.

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“I am looking forward to working with Leo, and believe he will embrace the challenge of Championship football here at Wigan Athletic.

“Everyone has to remember Leo is just 19 and has his best years ahead of him, but he certainly has the foundations to become a top-level player.

“Thanks to the chairman for his work in getting this deal completed so early in the window, which will give Leo the chance to come in and work with us straight away in pre-season.”

Da Silva Lopes, who was born in Lisbon, burst on to the scene at the age of 16, since when he’s made 108 appearances in all competitions for Posh.

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His mouth-watering potential has already seen him called up in to the Portugal Under-21 set-up.

“This is a really exciting acquisition for us,” acknowledged Latics chairman David Sharpe.

“And I’d like to place on record my thanks to Darragh MacAnthony and Barry Fry at Peterborough for their respective parts in this deal.”

Posh chief MacAnthony had given a clue to the transfer last night, when he tweeted: “So we have accepted a SEVEN figure transfer fee for one of our players. The player has been given permission to talk terms etc. That’s all for today.”