Wigan Athletic: The 12th Man - '...will go a long way to alleviating the fears of many...'

George Arkwright

'He’s the man with the name you’d love to touch, but you mustn’t touch'. It’s a fair point.

Max Power, apart from being a good footballer, has a quality name. Not just in reference to that famous line from 'The Simpsons', either. For a tenacious, combative midfielder, with the technical profile of a League One and Championship player, he has had quite a storied career thus far.

Stints in Denmark and Saudi Arabia have both occurred since the last time he pulled on a Wigan shirt, before settling in Bradford with a captain's armband and apparently a longing to return to the Brick. Arguably a big, respectable name on the Christopher Park campus.

Many have been worried by our purported lack of budget and endeavour in the transfer window but, to me, a signing like this can only be seen as a massive boon. A play-off team’s captain and prodigal son has returned.

At times it feels like nostalgia is truly the sharpest weapon in a journeyman midfielder’s arsenal. However, I can’t imagine he’d have left if the plan laid out before him, the aspirations reported to him, and the money offered to him weren’t all compelling.

Obviously, Gary, Perks and Power have a storied history. He was an integral part of that vintage title-winning side during Caldwell’s first managerial foray - setting up next to Perkins in a mercurial midfield two that had taken residence in Wigan folklore. As well as a brief return during our ill-fated Bahraini Sabbatical. Although his second stint is potentially less memorable.

Either way, this feels like a transfer that is representative of a far more ambitious season than many would give our leadership group credit for. I can’t imagine signing him would break the bank at 32, but a player of his calibre and leadership quality is one which I’m sure Caldwell would look to build around and upon.

One slight negative is that maybe this means that one of our current (out of contract) midfield trio - Matt Smith, Jensen Weir and Callum Wright - could be departing. My money would be, potentially, on two. Smith has been in contract negotiations for a few months now, while Wright has been attracting interest across the EFL.

It’s obviously difficult to speculate on as, outside of my recent conversations with managing director Sarah Guilfoyle, in which she confirmed that both Smith and Harrison Bettoni were in the midst of negotiations, there has been little in the way of positive rumours for both.

Having since seen that Bettoni has been linked with AC Milan, Manchester City and other European giants, I am less convinced he’ll be in a Wigan shirt next season, even if that does sound like agentic fabrication and conjecture of the highest order.

As for Smith, stories of homesickness have mired any clarity regarding his contractual obligations to the club. Having said that, the man obviously knows his way around the place.

I suppose that’s the transfer merry-go-round in a nutshell. Everyone’s telling half-truths, and no-one ever really knows anything until there’s a signature on a dotted line somewhere in the backrooms at the Brick.

This is the nature of things - we’re talking about the livelihoods of these young men and, honestly, a moment of emotion, madness, wherewithal or trepidation could derail weeks or months of hard work. Still, I suppose we’re here to speculate, aren’t we?

Connor Barrett has also signed on the dotted line. A strong player at League Two level. A ‘proper’ wing-back which will surely add quality. Again, a signing that to me speaks of a positivity that many thought we’d be lacking.

A swift one-two punch of Power and Barrett will, I think, go a long way to alleviating the fears of many who expected this season to kick-off with a whimper. I’d give this one a 7/10 on the ‘okay, that’s a transfer I believe could be both realistic and beneficial to us’-o-meter.

Meanwhile, Sam Tickle might be off. That would be both utterly deserved and sad beyond measure. Sheffield, Leicester, or parts unknown potentially await, but he is a player of immense quality, and if we can secure good money for him, it seems like a necessary loss in order to finance a rebuild. 3/10.

Would hate to see him go, but would understand the need and be relatively confident of finding a suitable replacement considering the amount we could potentially recoup. However, that money could also all go completely on a certain Joe Taylor.

I was told by sources close to the club towards the end of last season that he had already made it clear that he’d be open to staying, but that obviously, if the financials weren’t correct, then there was not much that good-will would achieve. Just today I have seen a few wild theories that we’re looking to bid £2-4million for him, but personally I won’t believe that until he’s holding a shirt with ‘2030’ on the back.

Obviously, things can change, and if we’re to perform a large amount of mental gymnastics, combined with an abundance of potential sell-on clauses for a number of our ex-players - Joe Gelhardt, Antonee Robinson, et al - then maybe the unlikely could occur. However, generally I’d be surprised to see him back in a Wigan shirt. 4/10.

His return would be lauded as our best signing in years, but I can’t imagine us spending millions on a single player. I hope I’m proved wrong.

A less exciting option would be Josh Magennis’ return. A 35-year-old man-mountain that didn’t impress during his last shift at the club, I’m unsure if three years down in the south-west would have done much to raise his quality or his credentials.

With 13 goals in his last two seasons, and 11 in his time playing for us, he’s hardly the prolific replacement we would ask to step into Taylor’s shoes. 2/10, thanks, but no thanks.

I think we can all expect some twists and turns over the next month, we have a number of players aside from the two mentioned still in negotiations, and many spaces to fill. Assuming we have the money to spend, I would personally expect at least two strikers, two central midfielders, two or three wing-backs and two centre-backs to bolster our currently meagre rations.

And on the basis of Gregor Rioch’s admission of quality over quantity, I’m expecting he’ll be paying close attention to the French, Brazilian and German national teams over the next few weeks.

Surely we could grab Kante on a free? He’d at least make our bench. Up the Tics.

Matt Auffrey:

We’re hours away from the first kick of the World Cup and, while I failed to secure (affordable) tickets, I am finally genuinely excited for the summer ahead. I’ve spent little time watching the final batch of friendlies that took place over the past week, but dropped everything I was doing to catch Antonee Robinson’s 'golazo' against Germany on Saturday.

If you haven’t seen the goal yet, try to find a video of it soon, as his long-range volley has to be a Puskas Award candidate! I wish I could say the goal made me optimistic about the USA’s chances of progressing in the tournament.

Instead, it only increased my hopes that he gets sold to a big-spending club this summer and Latics can recoup one of its largest sell-on fees yet. I’m prepared to be disappointed, though - once again!

On the topic of big cash splashes, Joe Taylor’s name has re-emerged in our transfer discussions as he is now linked with a multitude of clubs for a permanent move away from Huddersfield Town.

Our directors stated several months ago we would not be in the market for Taylor should he be available for purchase. However, all it takes is one person to start a rumour, and the online profile who reignited the idea of Taylor rejoining Latics has certainly stirred up enough discussion to take our fanbase’s attention away from Max Power’s arrival and back towards making a dream signing.

While the overwhelming majority of our fanbase has long accepted that Taylor has played his last game in blue and white, I think the conversation has reminded many fans that our summer transfer budget may end up being considerably lower than what they expect for a team that is going to compete in the top half of the league table next season.

A variety of sources have stated that last year’s budget was within the top half of the league, while others have stated we were in the lower half of the league. Both sides could be correct if they reference different budget components (eg squad wages versus total expenditure).

But the debate persists about whether we are spending enough to achieve our greater goals. The conversation may also hit a nerve, because our striker situation has been so erratic since we dropped back down into this division three summers ago.

Stephen Humphrys excelled under Shaun Maloney then left on a free in the summer of 2024. Thelo Aasgaard ripped up trees then was sold well before we were ready to let him go in January 2025. Dale Taylor was our Player of the Season while on loan, then went on to sign for a local rival, Blackpool, on a permanent deal last summer.

Any striker who develops the slightest bit of form for us moves on before we can really reap the rewards over an extended period of time! As things currently stand, Dara Costelloe and Christian Saydee are our only first-team strikers under contract for next season. More reinforcements are surely on the way, but those players remain a mystery for now.

The reality is that there is still a world of business to be done over the coming months, and we have hardly scratched the surface by signing Max Power. In the meantime, let’s enjoy the next five weeks of non-stop, high-stakes football. Hopefully, at minimum, a few positive club-related updates are sprinkled into the news feed amidst a host of exhilarating World Cup developments. Happy viewing, everyone!

Martin Lally:

I find myself for the first time excited about football again...World Cup fever has started to set in, or was it really the return of Max Power Fantástico to Wigan Athletic? After the woeful England showing on Saturday, I’m doubling down my money on Power's return.

For me, Max is very much needed in our squad. I am not expecting the all-action combative midfielder we have seen in the past but his leadership and overall League One experience will be crucial in next year’s battle. We find ourselves in another week where Super Sam Tickle dominates the local news about a potential move to the Championship, with many admirers battling for his signature. Sam has been absolutely outstanding for us, and he deserves every Wigan fan to be happy for him, and hopefully watch him go all the way to the top.

The potential movement of Sam leaves an enormous hole in the jigsaw, a hole that must be filled as a priority. I’m an old school football fan, and many teams are successful because they have a solid spine in the team - a goalkeeper, two decent centre-backs, a good central midfielder and someone up top.

At the minute, we only have one of those positions filled for certain - Max - and some may find that even that isn’t enough. We remain hopeful that, as we contemplate staying up late for Sweden-Tunisia or get up for an early brew for Australia-Türkiye news, will start to arrive in relation to a new Wigan Athletic, for a new season that will roll in faster than we think now.

In the spirit of the big kick-off across the pond, I thought I would select my personal Wigan Athletic favourite XI of the countries that are represented at this year's World Cup. It was a tough call!

Sam Tickle (England); Antonio Valencia (Ecuador - I know he played wing for WAFC but later played here as MUFC captain - my rules! I’m squeezing him in), Arjan De Zeeuw (Netherlands), Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay), Leighton Baines (England); Sam Morsy (Egypt), Jimmy Bullard (England); Lee McCulloch (Scotland), Nick Powell (England), Hugo Rodallega (Columbia); Amr Zaki (Egypt). Manager: Roberto Martinez (Spain). Honourable Mentions: Charles N’zogbia (France), Jordi Gomez (Spain), Callum Mcmanaman (England).

Up the ‘World Cup Fever’ Tics!