Wigan Athletic starlets already target for vultures

Latics were sensationally – and unexpectedly – placed into administration when new owners Next Leader Fund, who only took over from International Entertainment Corporation on June 4, indicated they were no longer prepared to fund the club.

Gerald Krasner, a joint administrator from Begbies Traynor, is trying to find a new buyer to ensure Latics can first of all see out the season, before even beginning to look to the future.

One of the options of raising funds is obviously to sell players,and Krasner says a couple of graduates from the club’s burgeoning academy set-up have also been singled out by the big boys.

“We may have to sell one player, but we are not in the part of the season where we’re allowed to sell anyone yet,” Krasner revealed.

“We are currently looking at the players’ valuations, because that’s what administrators do in this situation.

“I have already been approached by one football club in respect of two of the younger players.

“I’m not prepared to name them or the football club, and all options remain on the table at this stage.

“We will do whatever it takes to make sure that Wigan Athletic – in some shape or form – is ready for next season.”

While it’s not clear who the duo are, Latics have a trio of starlets – Joe Gelhardt, Jensen Weir and Alfie Devine – currently starring for England at junior level.

Gelhardt and Weir are regulars in the Three Lions’ Under-18s, with the former skippering the side earlier this season.

Devine, two years younger, was recently voted player of the tournament during a major Under-16 competition including starlets from Barcelona and Real Madrid.

All three were part of the Latics Under-18 side that reached the quarter-final of the FA Youth Cup for the first time this year, only to narrowly lose 2-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It’s a youth system that has quickly become the envy of bigger clubs up and down the country, under the watchful eye of Academy chief Gregor Rioch, and originally put in place by chief executive Jonathan Jackson.

Left-back Antonee Robinson is also sure to be in demand, having seen a January move to Italian giants AC Milan collapse at the 11th hour due to a technicality with the medical.

The 22-year-old has since been given the all-clear to resume his career, and has already been linked with a number of other clubs, including Premier League outfit West Ham and and Championship promotion-chasers West Brom.