Leam Richardson reveals Wigan Athletic loan thinking

The Latics manager has a 24-strong senior squad at his disposal, having drafted in some 15 summer signings.

That’s left youngsters Luke Robinson and Adam Long in particular struggling to even get on the bench, raising the possibility of a loan to aid their development.

Richardson, though, says that’s a non-starter.

“I think where we were in the summer, and putting our final bits together to last until January, it was important that everyone stuck with us,” he said.

“But at the same time we know we have some very good young players here who will only benefit from playing more football.

“We felt it was important to keep them around us for now, to get to know the standards, the habits and the ethos in what we want to build.

“And then when they are asked to go out and represent themselves and ourselves, they’re in the best possible position to do that.

“In the short term, nobody will be going out before January.

"But we’re always mindful of the fact that the best way of developing a young player is for him to be playing football.”

While the EFL transfer window is shut, players are allowed to go on loan to the National League – which Richardson says isn’t the issue.

“Listen there’s some very, very good teams in the National League and the standard is very good with some very good coaches,” he added.

“It’s something we wouldn’t absolutely dismiss, because there is nothing like learning your trade out there on the pitch.

“We just felt for this first part of the season we wanted to keep everyone together, and for the squad to be as healthy as possible.”

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