OPINION: What Sam Tickle's new deal means for Wigan Athletic - now and down the line

But there is always an exception to any rule, and Wigan Athletic extending Sam Tickle's stay will be the best bit of business they do this - and very likely any other - summer.

This time last year, the Warringtonian was barely a household name in his own household, having made his first senior appearance in the final game of last term against Rotherham United.

Fast forward 12 months, and the world is quite literally his oyster.

An ever-present in Latics' League One campaign, Tickle fully justified the huge faith shown in him last summer by manager Shaun Maloney, who handed him the symbolic No.1 shirt.

A stand-out performer most weeks, Tickle was unsurprisingly named Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year at Latics' recent awards night.

Producing a man-of-the-match performance on the biggest stage - the FA Cup visit of Manchester United in January - Tickle was no longer the best kept secret Latics were hoping he would stay for a bit longer.

His breakthrough into the England Under-21 scene was inevitable, and the only question now appears to be when…

When will he be facing - or even playing for - the likes of United on a regular basis in the Premier League?

And when will his first call-up into the full England squad be...with the best of two decades at the top ahead of him?

All this, of course, is for another day.

His immediate future lies with Latics, as part of the rebuild under Maloney.

It would be naive to think signing a long-term extension means Tickle will be here for that length of time.

Latics would still be powerless to prevent him moving to a big club if the opportunity arose - and nor would they want to do so.

The model is to produce young, exciting talent that will move up through the leagues - hopefully taking Latics with them.

If not, the appropriate remuneration to be able to reinvest into the model, and produce the next big thing for much further down the line.

Tickle's new deal does cover a few significant factors – all of them advantageous.

Recognition for how far the player has come in such a short space of time, and a contract that reflects his status as a leader of the team.

It also provides security for Latics, in terms of a bargaining position, if and when the elite do come calling.

In addition, it also sends out a huge statement of intent in terms of the ambition of the club under the Mike Danson ownership.

The first year of the rebuild was always going to be about consolidating...getting a grasp on the costs that had spiralled out of control, and taken the club to the brink of existence.

As the wage bill gradually becomes more manageable, there will always be room for the likes of Tickle - and Charlie Hughes and Thelo Aasgaard last summer - to gain the appropriate recognition and recompense for their growing importance.

The days of Latics splashing the cash may be gone for now. But when there's an Academy capable of producing big-money talent for next to nothing...is that necessarily a bad thing?