Shaun Maloney discusses return of Callum McManaman to Wigan Athletic

Eagle-eyed fans will have noticed a couple of training ground pics on social media featuring the 31-year-old, who has been without a club since leaving Tranmere Rovers last summer.

And there was a very familiar name on the Under-23s team sheet for Monday's clash at Charlton, with McManaman making a second-half cameo off the bench.

It's McManaman's third 'spell' with Latics, having returned for the 2018-19 campaign under Paul Cook.

He also spent a very short time training with Latics in the summer of 2020 – shortly after the club was placed into administration – before opting to take up a dream move to Melbourne Victory., although he returned home after a year.

Having been team-mates at the DW a decade ago - sharing the FA Cup success - Maloney is just happy to see McManaman back playing with a smile on his face.

"I'm just really pleased that Callum's getting himself back into a condition that will allow his talent to take over," the Latics boss said.

"When I came in, and rang him in the first couple of days, I knew he'd been out of the game since leaving Tranmere last summer.

"I knew he'd played really well during his time in Australia at Melbourne, and of course he's one of our own.

"I know Ben Watson gets most of the credit for the cup final, and rightly so, it was an amazing header.

"But one of the biggest reasons we won that game was the performance of Callum McManaman.

"That performance he produced at Wembley that day was as good as anything I've ever been a part of, in terms of one-v-one, individual performance.

"He's come through our Academy, he's one of our own, and anything I can do to help him get his career back on track, I definitely will.

The least I, and the club, owe him is the chance to come and train with us, and give him any help we possibly can."

The sight of McManaman back in a Latics shirt has naturally led to fans speculating of a full-time return.

For now, Maloney says that's not on the cards – nor has he been scouring the free agent market, despite having room for one more player in his squad.

"We're not at that point yet," he said. "I'm really happy with the group I've got, and we won't be adding to that group.

"It's just really about helping Callum to get back to the condition we think he can get to, and then hopefully he can get his career back on track.

"Honestly, anything I can do to help him, I will do.

"It's great to have him around the place, and it's great for him to see so many friendly faces.

"You can see the talent is still there, and hopefully this is him getting back on track.

"Because a player of his quality shouldn’t be without a club for that long."