Wigan Athletic tie down nine promising academy scholars who have signed first professional contracts

Following an impressive showing throughout the 2024/25 Professional Development League season, nine of Latics’ Academy second-year scholars have committed their immediate futures to the club in the shape of Jake Spaven, James Knott, Sam Bolland, Alex Hughes, Charley McKee, Christy Edwards, Harrison Rimmer, Reece Greenhalgh and Cole Simms.

All nine players join up with the Latics Under-21s, as Chris Brown’s side prepare to get their fixture schedule underway on Tuesday, August 12, with a trip to Colchester United in the Professional Development League.

“We are delighted to be able to offer nine of our Under-18s their first professional contracts with the club,” said Latics academy manager Jake Campbell.

"The nine players who have been offered contracts join Harrison Bettoni and Elijah Igiehon in taking us to 11 first-year professionals to form the basis of our Under-21 group. It's an exciting group for us to have, and we have been building towards this being a core group of Under-21s for us.

“We've got a lot of exciting talent and a lot of talented individuals. A lot of them have been with us since the youngest age of Pre-Academy, and others have joined along the way to strengthen the group.

"The scholarships that they have recently completed further highlighted their capabilities to compete at Under-21 level and represent our football club, and we're excited to see how they develop both as a collective and as individuals over the coming seasons.”