"You could argue" - Claim made on Wigan Athletic decision that led to Barnsley transfer for "luxury player" | OneFootball

Football League World's Latics Fan Pundit has spoken about his side's former forward.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Wigan Athletic have not had the most memorable of seasons, with Shaun Maloney trying his best to make the most out of a year that has not offered supporters much to shout about.

A 0-0 draw at home to second-placed Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday was a positive step in the right direction for the Latics, but the threat of relegation does remain very real due to the recent form of Burton Albion.

The Greater Manchester outfit are just four points above the drop zone, although they do have at least one game in hand on all the sides below them in the League One table.

Nevertheless, Wigan need to pick up a win sooner rather than later to ensure that they are not caught up by those also fighting for survival, and there may be some who wish the club were able to keep hold of a former star who now plays his football for Barnsley.

Verdict made on Wigan's decision to let Stephen Humphrys go

Stephen Humphrys left the Latics in the summer after three years at the club, revealing soon after that he had failed to come to an agreement with the board over the terms of a new contract as the ownership made cutbacks on spending.

He made the switch to the Tykes, but he has found it difficult to find any form in South Yorkshire, scoring just four goals in 25 League One games.

Football League World has asked their Wigan Fan Pundit, Corey Bissell, if he believes his side are missing the 27-year-old, or if the decision to let him go was the correct one.

He told FLW: "It's difficult to tell with Humphrys whether we should have kept him or not. Four goals in 24 games for Barnsley isn't exactly pulling up trees, so you could argue that we made the right decision.

"I think it depends on what he was asking. By the sounds of things, he was asking for things that were out of our budget, in which case, obviously, I think we made the right decision. Personally, towards the end of Humphrys’ time at Wigan, I wasn't a huge fan of his due to his work rate."

Corey continued: "There's been things said since that he was playing for injuries and stuff like that, but I feel like he's a potentially a bit of a luxury player, which, in a Shaun Maloney system, you can't really have.

"Obviously, with the likes of Johnny Smith playing off that right-hand side, scoring wonder goals, it does make it look as though maybe we did make the right decision."

Wigan should not be overly concerned about the loss of Humphrys

Although a team will always want to keep hold of players who have performed for them in the previous season, Humphrys' record at Wigan was not one that has been overly missed.

He had his best year with the Latics in the 2023/24 campaign, but he still found the back of the net just nine times in the league despite playing across the front three.

This inconsistency in front of goal has continued with Barnsley and, at 27, this is when he should be entering his prime.

Humphrys scored important goals for Wigan in the past, but he was not irreplaceable and there are much cheaper versions of the former Hearts man out there. However, supporters will never forget his winner against Bolton Wanderers last season and this is what he will be remembered for and not his exit from the club.