The 2020–21 season was Wigan Athletic Football Club's 89th season in existence and their first back in League One since 2017–18. In addition to the domestic league, Wigan Athletic participated in this season's editions of the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and EFL Trophy.
Season summary Due to the club's ongoing administration, there were initially concerns whether the club could begin the new season if the club was not sold to a new owner, but the English Football League (EFL) confirmed that the club would be able to start the season under administration. Prior to the start of the season, supporters raised £500,000 to help keep the club running until a buyer could be found. On 1 September, the club sold its training ground in Euxton to Preston North End for a fee of £1.6 million.
On 20 August 2020, the club's owner, Au Yeung Wai Kay, agreed to waive the £36 million debt owed to him by the club. On 30 September, an offer was accepted from a Spanish-based consortium led by businessman José Miguel Garrido Cristo, but the takeover was blocked by the EFL on 4 December, as the prospective owners had "failed to satisfy their requirements". A revised bid was submitted, led by CD Leganés president Felipe Moreno, but the takeover eventually fell through on 5 January. On 15 March, a bid was accepted from Phoenix 2021 Limited, owned by Bahraini businessman Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi. The takeover was completed at the end of March, with Talal Al-Hammad becoming the club's new chairman.
On 11 September, John Sheridan was appointed as manager as a replacement for Paul Cook, who had resigned at the end of the previous season. Sheridan left the club two months later to become manager of Swindon Town, with Leam Richardson taking charge for the remainder of the season.
The club managed to avoid a second successive relegation, finishing in 20th place.
Transfers Transfers in Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 4 September 2020 AM Dan Gardner Salford City Free transfer 4 September 2020 RW Viv Solomon-Otabor CSKA Sofia Free transfer 11 September 2020 RB Josh Clarke Brentford Free transfer 18 September 2020 CB Nathan Cameron Macclesfield Town Free transfer 9 October 2020 CF Will Keane Ipswich Town Free transfer 11 January 2021 RB Tendayi Darikwa Nottingham Forest Free transfer 22 January 2021 SS Zach Clough Nottingham Forest Free transfer 22 January 2021 RB Corey Whelan Phoenix Rising Free transfer 9 February 2021 LW Joe Dodoo Ankara Keçiörengücü Free transfer
Loans in Date Position Nationality Name From Date until Ref. 17 September 2020 RB Tom James Hibernian 17 January 2021 29 September 2020 CB Darnell Johnson Leicester City 4 January 2021 15 October 2020 CB Curtis Tilt Rotherham United End of season 16 October 2020 CM Matt Palmer Swindon Town 4 January 2021 22 January 2021 CB George Johnston Feyenoord End of season 28 January 2021 CM Funso Ojo Aberdeen End of season 1 February 2021 CF Jamie Proctor Rotherham United End of season 1 February 2021 CB Scott Wootton Plymouth Argyle End of season
Transfers out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 23 July 2020 GK James Aspinall Free agent Released 23 July 2020 DM Will McGuffie Free agent Released 23 July 2020 CM Jensen Weir Brighton & Hove Albion £500,000 24 July 2020 CB Leon Balogun Rangers Free transfer 28 July 2020 CM Alfie Devine Tottenham Hotspur £500,000 30 July 2020 GK Dániel Gyollai Peterborough United Free transfer 10 August 2020 CF Joe Gelhardt Leeds United Undisclosed 13 August 2020 CB Chey Dunkley Sheffield Wednesday Free transfer 13 August 2020 CF Kieffer Moore Cardiff City Undisclosed 17 August 2020 CM Lewis Macleod Plymouth Argyle Free transfer 20 August 2020 CM Joe Williams Bristol City £1,200,000 "wigantoday.net: "LIVE BLOG: Wigan Athletic administrators’ Thursday press conference" 20 August 2020 LB Antonee Robinson Fulham £2,000,000 Sky Sports: "Antonee Robinson: Fulham sign Wigan left-back for fee in region of £2m" 21 August 2020 GK David Marshall Derby County Undisclosed 27 August 2020 RW Jamal Lowe Swansea City £800,000 31 August 2020 RB Tylor Golden Salford City Free transfer 2 September 2020 AM Josh Windass Sheffield Wednesday Undisclosed 4 September 2020 CB Cédric Kipré West Bromwich Albion £1,000,000 10 September 2020 RB Nathan Byrne Derby County Undisclosed 11 September 2020 CM Sam Morsy Middlesbrough Undisclosed 14 September 2020 LM Michael Jacobs Portsmouth Free transfer 5 October 2020 RB Josh Clarke Free agent Released 17 October 2020 LW Anthony Pilkington East Bengal Free transfer 18 October 2020 CB Danny Fox East Bengal Free transfer 27 November 2020 LW Gary Roberts Bala Town Free transfer 1 January 2021 CF Joe Garner APOEL Nicosia Free transfer 5 January 2021 CB Nathan Cameron Solihull Moors Free transfer 15 January 2021 LW Kal Naismith Luton Town Free transfer 18 January 2021 LB Patrick Webber Free agent Mutual consent 25 January 2021 CF Charlie Jolley Tranmere Rovers Undisclosed 28 January 2021 LW Divin Baningime Free agent Mutual consent 30 January 2021 CF Joe Piggott Altrincham Free transfer 1 February 2021 RW Ollie Crankshaw Bradford City Undisclosed 16 February 2021 CB Emeka Obi AFC Fylde Free transfer
Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date until Ref. 29 July 2020 CF Callum Lang Motherwell 31 December 2020 27 October 2020 CB Jack Sanders AFC Fylde 9 February 2021 9 December 2020 GK Bobby Jones Warrington Town End of season
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions Overview
EFL League One
League table
Results summary
SHOULD READ
HOME RECORD WON 5 DRAWN 6 LOST 12 FOR 26 - AG 42 AWAY RECORD WON 8 DRAWN 3 LOST 12 FOR 28 AG 35
Results by round
Matches The 2020/21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.
FA Cup
The draw for the first round was made on Monday 26, October.
EFL Cup
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson.
EFL Trophy
The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.
Statistics Appearances & Goals
!colspan=14|Players who have left the club:
Disciplinary record
Rank No. Nat. Po. Name League One FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total 14CBCurtis Tilt 901000000000901211LWGavin Massey 600000000000600 334LBLuke Robinson 500000000000500423CMChris Merrie 400000000000400 24DMAlex Perry 40000000000040027RBTom James 30010000000040072 RBTendayi Darikwa 3000000000003008 DMLee Evans 2000001000003009 CFCallum Lang 30000000000030010CFWill Keane 300000000000300 12DMFunso Ojo 30000000000030014CFJoe Garner 300000000000300 131 GKJamie Jones 200000000000200 5CBNathan Cameron 20000000000020014CBScott Wootton 20000000000020016CFJamie Proctor 20000000000020019RWOllie Crankshaw 20000000000020020LWJoe Dodoo 20000000000020020CBEmeka Obi 00010010000020030AMThelo Aasgaard 20000000000020032CBAdam Long 100001000000101213 LBTom Pearce 100000000000100 4CBDanny Fox 100000000000100 5 CBGeorge Johnston 100000000000100 7RMKai Naismith 10000000000010015AMDan Gardner 10000000000010041CMHarry McHugh 000000000100100Total 69012012001007402
Notes
References
External links