Tom Pearce: My future was only ever with Wigan Athletic

The 23-year-old left-back, who was signed from Leeds United in 2019, would have been a free agent in the summer.

Despite interest from clubs in both League One and the Championship, he’s opted to continue his journey at the DW.

“Obviously I’m delighted to get it done, and to be staying at Wigan,” he said “We’ve been talking for a long time, and it’s great to finally get it over the line.

“This is a club going forwards both on and off the pitch and I want to be part of that.

“All the time I’ve been here, the team has played exactly the way that suits me as a player.

“And even though my contract was up at the end of the season, my only thought was Wigan and trying to stay here for as long as I can.

“It suits me because I’m from the area, but that was never a massive consideration. Regardless of where you live, you want to be at the club that best suits you as a player, and that for me has always been Wigan.

“Even with what happened last year, I’ve genuinely loved every minute I’ve been here.

“To come from where we were during last season to where we are now is a massive achievement. The challenge now is to kick on and get this club back to where we feel it belongs.”

Pearce limped off during the midweek Papa John’s Trophy clash against Arsenal Under-21s, but he’s not expecting a spell on the sidelines.

“It’s not a bad one,” he added. “I’m being assessed by the physio and we’ll go from there, but it’s not looking too bad.”

Get 20% off our sports subscription package and stay up to date with all the latest Wigan Athletic news with a year’s subscription to WiganToday for less than 9p a day. Use promo code TRANSFER20