The 3 Wigan Athletic players we can see leaving in January | OneFootball

The 3 Wigan Athletic players we can see leaving the Brick Community Stadium in January

Wigan Athletic's summer transfer window witnessed a high player turnover as senior players such as Josh Magennis and Charlie Wyke departed the Brick Community Stadium, while talented Premier League youngsters such as Luke Chambers and Dale Taylor were brought in on loan.

The Latics have endured a turbulent few years since administration in 2020, and also faced an eight-point deduction last campaign due to financial mismanagement overseen by the club's previous ownership group.

Due to troubled times in recent years, current owner Mike Danson has instilled an ethos of financial sustainability at the Brick Community Stadium, which partly restricts manager Shaun Maloney when it comes to transfer activity.

As such, the Latics are heavily reliant upon their youth academy and, as reported by Wigan Today, the Greater Manchester outfit submitted a 22-man squad to the EFL last month which included just 16 senior players.

But despite their small squad, the January transfer window is still likely to witness some Latics players depart the club, as Football League World looks at three Latics men who could be set to leave the Brick Community Stadium come the turn of the year:

Chris Sze

Wigan academy product Chris Sze can operate as either a forward or an attacking midfielder and enjoyed somewhat of a breakthrough season last campaign as he made 24 appearances in all competitions, including 19 League One outings.

The 20-year-old scored for the Latics during a 3-2 defeat at Port Vale last December, proving the potential he boasts at third tier level, while many supporters will have expected to see the starlet handed more playing opportunities this campaign following the exits of Wyke, Magennis and Stephen Humphrys.

This possibility looked to have come true when he was named in Maloney's starting 11 as the Latics hosted Charlton Athletic on the first day of the new season, and he made a total of five appearances in all competitions during August.

However, Sze failed to make a single appearance for the 'Tics during September, which shows that the club should look to loan him out this January.

Harry McHugh

Similarly to Sze, Harry McHugh rose through the youth academy ranks with the Latics but is yet to taste much senior football at the Brick Community Stadium.

Last campaign, the 21-year-old made six appearances for Maloney's side across all competitions, including two League One outings, while he scored one goal in three EFL Trophy appearances.

McHugh is a versatile player who can be deployed as both a full-back or a wide midfielder, and he made 12 appearances for Scottish Championship side Ayr United during the latter half of last season.

However, during August and September, the only time Maloney selected McHugh came in the first round of the EFL Cup as the Latics suffered a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Barnsley.

It seems evident that in order to help the youngster's development, Wigan must look to offload their man on loan once more during the January transfer window.

Tom Watson

Latics youth academy product and goalkeeper Tom Watson is somewhat ironically being kept out of Maloney's side by fellow homegrown talent and England Under-21 shotstopper Sam Tickle.

While Tickle offers Watson proof that the Latics youth set-up is a genuine pathway to first team football at the Brick Community Stadium, the 20-year-old's playing opportunities will be few and far between for the time being.

With the youngster's gametime in mind, Maloney should look to offload his starlet on loan in January, safe in the knowledge that former Everton man Andy Lonergan would be a solid deputy to Tickle in the absence of Watson.