Wigan Athletic should be a side interested in signing Man United forward: Opinion | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic are starting to step up their transfer business as the League One season is just over two weeks away.

The Latics will hope the 2023/24 campaign is one of significant improvement from last season, as off-field issues clouded a campaign that resulted in relegation back to the third tier.

However, the club is now under a new regime and, under the management of Shaun Maloney, they will hope the campaign to come will have lots more highs than lows.

It is unclear at this stage of the transfer window what budget Maloney is working with, as the club is bound to be cautious over spending, and so far their incomings have involved loans or free transfers.

The Latics will need to enter the market once again, this time for a forward, as Will Keane’s departure has been confirmed.

Wigan will not be able to count on the services of Keane this season, as the forward has signed for Preston North End on a permanent basis.

Keane has been an important player for the Latics in recent seasons, scoring a total of 39 combined in the last two campaigns, with 12 of them coming in the Championship last time out.

That leaves the League One side with a big hole to fill, as Keane has been a consistent performer in front of goal.

But, considering the club may be cautious with spending this summer, they may be wise in being interested in taking Charlie McNeill from Manchester United for the season.

McNeill is set to leave Old Trafford with League One a likely destination for a loan, according to Manchester Evening News.

The striker missed Man United’s recent pre-season win over Leeds United and that is because he is set for another loan, after his one at Newport County last season.

Why should Wigan Athletic sign Charlie McNeill?

McNeill has shown in the Man United academy that he is a natural-born goalscorer, and while he didn’t score regularly for Newport County, he did get on the scoresheet.

It looks to make sense for the forward to go out on loan again this summer, as he isn’t going to feature regularly in the first-team at Old Trafford and for his development he needs to be playing more men’s football than academy.

It seems League One is the likely destination and, therefore, while there isn’t a preferred team, Wigan should make their interest known in the young striker.

Despite only playing 20 times for Newport in his spell at the club, McNeill still left an impression on the team and league. Using WhoScored.com, McNeill averaged 1.3 shots per game, with two leading to goals.

He is also a player who doesn’t mind having the ball at his feet and taking players on, as he averaged 0.5 dribbles per game. McNeill is a player who has a low centre of gravity and, with his tricky feet, he is able to draw fouls, something he did 0.3 times per game.

McNeill’s game also allows him to drop deep at times, and that showed for Newport, as he made 0.8 key passes per game and had a pass competition rate of 64.5%.

Looking at McNeill in Man United’s academy, he played 35 times for the under-18s, scoring 34 times and providing 11 assists.

While in the under-23s, McNeill has played 34 games and scored nine goals, along with three assists. The 19-year-old has only played seven times for United in the Papa John’s Trophy and has four goals to his name in that competition.

McNeill is still a very young and raw talent, but he has proven he has a natural eye for the goal at youth level and showed signs of development in his all-round game at Newport.