Wigan Athletic midfielder returns to old club on loan

The 31-year-old midfielder has struggled to nail down a first-team spot since arriving from Derby County 12 months ago.

Latics took advantage of Derby's administration to take him for a cut-price fee of just £30,000 as they looked to bolster the squad for the promotion run-in.

Shinnie, though, spent most of the second half of the campaign on the bench with Max Power and Tom Naylor the preferred duo in central midfield.

Although Shinnie featured slightly more regularly this term, he has made only substitute appearances - totalling 49 minutes - since Kolo Toure took over.

He was spotted taking in Derby's trip to Bolton last month, fuelling talk of a return to Pride Park.

But it transpires his destination is another of his old clubs, Aberdeen - from whom he left to join Derby back in the summer of 2019.

“Graeme is a player who knows the club well, he is aware of the level of expectation here and despite being away from Pittodrie for a few years he obviously still has close connections with the place and a number of the staff,” said Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin.

“He has great leadership qualities and will bring a wealth of experience to the squad. We look forward to working with him in the coming months.”

Shinnie was club captain at Pittodrie during his four-year stint, during which time Aberdeen qualified for Europe three times.

His departure will free up funds for new Latics boss Toure to embark on his own squad strengthening.

A statement on the Latics club website included the line: “We wish him all the best for the rest of the campaign up in Scotland.”

Shinnie's absence from the matchday 18 against Hull on Monday fuelled speculation he would be leaving.

"That was just a decision we made," said Toure after the game. "We have a squad, we have players who have been on the bench, and some who haven't.

"You can't fit all of your players into the squad."