There has been plenty for Wigan’s players and fans to be cheerful about following the recent run of wins that has catapulted the team to the top of the League One table. But nobody has a broader smile on his face that Will Grigg. He perfectly set up substitute James Vaughan to score the team’s second goal in their recent win over Rochdale, before adding a fourth to put the final nail in the coffin. But it was his hat trick in the previous win over MK Dons that had really set tongues wagging.
Fate plays a hand
According to Latics assistant coach Leam Richardson, though, it was only though luck that Grigg had the opportunity to score that memorable hat trick goal, and his 23rd of what has been a stellar season. Richardson explained: “We were about to bring him off before he scored his third goal,” and had the ball been booted out of play a minute sooner, Grigg would have found himself sitting on the bench, to allow James Vaughan some time in the middle.
A sterling season
Will Grigg has been the stand-out player all year, and has been instrumental in Wigan’s meteoric rise up the table at the business end of the season. He scored crucial goals to keep the team in contention with their back-to-back draws against Blackburn and Scunthorpe in early March, and scored that all-important first goal in the win against Oldham, which set this whole purple patch in motion.
Who will come knocking?
If Grigg can continue these kinds of high profile performances, there is no telling where his talent might take him. The 26 year old has already represented Northern Ireland throughout the age ranges, and has played for the senior team ten times, scoring his first and only goal to date in a friendly against Belarus in May 2016.
While he has yet to attract serious attention from the Premier League, the likelihood of a senior team from one of the European leagues, such as Germany’s Bundesliga or the Series A in Italy seems almost inevitable. The latter, in particular, has a wealth of teams that are liable to take an interest. The sportsbet.io.blog takes a look at them in a little more detail.
Can Latics win League One?
Since relegation from the Premier League five years ago, Wigan Athletic has suffered something of a downward spiral. The club went into this season with one main aim in mind, and that was to stop the rot and return to Championship football next year. Standing at the head of the League One table, that aim now seems a formality, but can they go one better and be ultimate league winners?
Only Blackburn can realistically stop them, and with a game in hand, bookmakers have Wigan as odds-on favourites to take the highest accolade. Still, there are six League One matches still to be played, including this weekend’s high pressure match up against Rotherham, a team who have promotion aspirations of their own and are showing great form and determination. So make no mistake, there is still work to be done.
One thing is for sure, though. If Grigg continues in his current form and the club continues to fire on all cylinders around him, the smiles throughout Wigan will continue. The club will be able to look forward to spending next season in the Championship. And as for Grigg – well he would be well advised to ensure his passport is well up to date so that he is prepared for whatever the future might hold.
