Wigan Athletic have come into this campaign as one of the favourites to be promoted from League One following their relegation from The Championship last time out. They made a good start to their 2017/18 campaign as they won 1-0 against MK Dons at Stadium MK on Saturday afternoon.
It was Latics midfielder Nick Powell who got the only goal of the game with a low drive into the bottom corner of the net. It is always important to get off to a good start and the away side certainly did that with a superb performance.
This site takes a look at why the 23-year-old midfielder may be a class above League One. He will certainly be a vital player for Wigan if he is still with them when the transfer window slams shut at the beginning of September.
Finding his form at the DW Stadium
The midfielder had a rough couple of years on a number of different loans spells in which he really struggled to find any sort of form. He had loan spells at Leicester City and Hull City as well as a spell at Wigan in the 2013/14 campaign. However, it was not until he joined the Latics permanently last summer, that he really settled down and began to focus on his football.
His loan spells at Leicester and Hull were both unsuccessful as he made three league appearances for both, failing to score a single goal. However, his first ever loan spell at Wigan was a success as he made 31 appearances and found the back of the net on seven occasions.
The previous success he had experienced at the club may have been a key influence on his decision to join the club on a permanent basis three years later. Wigan picked him up on a free transfer on a three-year deal and he has been a key player ever since. Despite a torrid season for Latics last time out which saw them relegated from The Championship, Powell still managed to score six goals in 18 appearances with
Despite a torrid season for Latics last time out which saw them get relegated to the League One, Powell still managed to score six goals in 18 appearances with majority of these coming in the latter stages of the campaign.
His first full season at the club was tarnished by an injury he suffered in January during an FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest. This saw him miss around three months of the season. It could be argued that Wigan may have been able to mount a better effort for survival had Powell remained fit for the entire season.
Still time to reach his full potential
Many people forget that Powell is still just 23-years-old. It is now seven years since he made his debut at the age of just 16-years-old for Crewe Alexandra, at a time when he was tipped to be one of the next big footballing stars.
He was signed by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson two years later for a fee of around £6 million but never really made an impact at Old Trafford. He made a total of three league appearances for United and scored just one goal. This came in a 4-0 win against Wigan in the Premier League after he had come on as a substitute for the legendary Ryan Giggs.
Powell will now be looking to become a legend in his own right at Wigan by firing them to promotion back to The Championship at the first attempt this season.
