Shaun Maloney reacts to Wigan Athletic starlet's England call-up

Tickle, 21, only made his senior debut on the final day of last term against Rotherham United.

But after being given the No.1 jersey by Maloney over the summer, a string of consistent displays has seen him join a squad that won the Under-21 Euros only two months ago.

“It’s amazing news for Sam and his family," enthused the Latics boss.

"I know they are incredibly proud, and it just shows how quickly Sam has developed into a big player for us.

“His performances have warranted the England Under-21 call-up.

"It’s amazing news for him and our Academy.

“It shows we’re going to give young players a chance, and when they do, anything is possible.

“I hope it comes with a great performance against Blackpool - and I’m sure it will!

"It’s special and it has been years since we last had someone in the England Under-21s from our club.

"It’s just brilliant news for the Academy and it should give even more motivation to our Academy staff and other players that they can see a real pathway at our club.

"From my point of view, I hope that pathway comes with a lot of wins as well."

Tickle is already on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs.

While not appreciating the attention in his young star, Maloney insisted last month the overall situation was very healthy.

"He's only had a few league starts, but you can already see the level of player we have here,” Maloney said.

"We'll keep his feet on the ground, but he's clearly had a very good start to the season.

"I knew within about four weeks of being here that Sam, I wouldn't say nailed on, but that I would be giving him every opportunity to be No.1.

"I really wanted to see how he'd do at the end of last season, when he played against Rotherham, when we had the pay issue.

"What's hard is that he didn't have any league experience before, only loan spells at a lower level.

"I still know he'll have ups and he'll have downs, because this is his first real run as a No.1 goalie.

"But he was very good today and we're delighted with him."

Tickle signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2021, having been with Latics since 2012.

He spent time out on loan at Nantwich Town and Warrington Rylands prior to his ascent into the Latics first-team set-up.

Speaking earlier this summer, Maloney admitted he'd seen in Tickle 'attributes that clubs pay big money for'.

"Yeah, he's ready, he's ready to push for that No.1 jersey," Maloney said.

"I won't have any guaranteed starter, I'll let football make that decision every week.

"But Sam's been very good since I've been here.

"He's got attributes that clubs pay big money for.

"He's an amazing shot-stopper first and foremost, and he has a brilliant temperament.

"He needs to work on his short passing, but the ability he has with his long kicking is ridiculous.

"He will get caught at times, as all goalkeepers do, but we'll give him all the confidence to play his natural game."