Hibernian midfielder on Wigan Athletic transfer radar | OneFootball

New Wigan Athletic manager Shaun Maloney is plotting a late transfer window raid for Hibernian midfielder Ewan Henderson, according to a report from Alan Nixon on Patreon.

The Latics have already added two players to their engine room this month in the form of Miguel Azeez and Christ Tiehi, but they were both signings made under the previous regime of Kolo Toure.

Maloney is now looking to re-unite with Henderson, who he managed during his time at Scottish Premiership side Hibs during the 2021-22 season.

The 22-year-old, who is a Celtic academy graduate, joined Hibs a year ago on an initial loan deal, which was eventually made permanent, and was a regular under Maloney in an attacking midfield role at Easter Road.

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Henderson has played 22 times in all competitions this season, scoring four goals and notching three assists, and can also play as a left-sided midfielder or winger as opposed to his natural position in the middle of the park.

Despite his outings in 2022-23, Henderson is not a regular starter under Lee Johnson and he could potentially jump at the move to the DW Stadium, with Wigan looking at who in their squad that they could potentially use as makeweight in a deal to bring the Scotsman to Greater Manchester.

The Verdict

Wigan have numbers in midfield, but perhaps lack some quality in the final third amongst those options.

A lot of the choices that Maloney has are quite defensive-minded, so it does make sense that he is targeting a player who he not only knows, but is more effective further up the pitch.

Often during his time at Hibs, Maloney played two attacking midfielders behind a striker and he could see Henderson as the one to play alongside Will Keane in that duo.

Wigan will need to pay a fee for Henderson though as he is a player who can come into the first-team now but also has the potential to develop into a better player than he already is – if he does arrive then it will show that the hierarchy are backing Maloney to make a difference.