Wigan Athletic chief makes huge transfer revelation regarding on-loan Brentford and Plymouth Argyle midfielders - 'Definitely scope'

The Latics chief currently has five players on 12-month loan agreements - Paul Mullin from Wrexham, Callum Wright from Plymouth Argyle, Ryan Trevitt from Brentford, Ollie Cooper from Swansea City and Raphael Borges Rodrigues from Coventry City.

A sixth, Isaac Mabaya, has already returned to Liverpool having sustained a serious Achilles injury on his full debut for Latics against Notts County last month.

Lowe had said at the beginning of the summer he was hoping to use the loan market less than the club has done in the past, only for circumstances to dictate otherwise.

And he's confirmed he’s already looking at holding on to Trevitt and Wright beyond next summer.

When asked whether some of the loans could end up being permanent acquisitions, Lowe replied: "Of course. Certainly, in terms of Ryan and Cal Wright, we'd love nothing better than to be able to look at signing them in January.

"Their contracts are up at the end of the season, so I'd like to think we've got first dibs on that.

"Mulls is different, he's got two years left at Wrexham, but he wanted to come out and play football.

"I know I said a while ago that I didn't want too many loan players, but when a certain type of player comes up, at the price they come up for, it's a no-brainer.

"We couldn't afford to give him a two-year deal, because there's no way we could afford to match what he's on at Wrexham. He's not going to sacrifice that.

"It was the same with Ryan at Brentford, and Cal was a little bit different. But in terms of those two, we have got them on loan with a view to permanent deals, definitely.

"The two newer ones (Cooper and Rodrigues) might be different, you never know. All we can do is give them the exposure and the game-time here, and if they can help us to get to where we want to get to, and be successful, then it's a no-brainer.

"But certainly for Ryan and Callum, there's definitely scope for something to possibly happen in January or at the end of the season, definitely."

Lowe also revealed his capture of Cooper from Swansea was not just a summer-long pursuit - but one that went back to his days at Preston.

"Ollie's one I've monitored for many years, I've always liked him since he first came through at Swansea," he added.

"Look, for me, when Ollie is fit and firing, he is a Championship player. He's a full international for Wales, and that's what he's come here to do...perform to the levels we know he can, and get back into their squad.

"I tried to sign him at Preston, but he was a couple of million pounds at that time. At the beginning of the season, again we looked at signing him here, but the price was just too much.

"As soon as we heard he’d be available for loan, we snatched their hands off to take him. He was happy to come, he knew I'd watched him for a long time, and he'll bring strength in depth in a key position."