Latics Take in Ukraine in Search for New Blood

Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez has revealed that the club are scouring the international leagues for new talent to bring to the club although he is quick to stress that he feels the Latics have a good squad of players and a lot of potential in the current crop, but like any manager he knows that it is necessary to strengthen.

It is a common fact that Martinez looks to Spain and Holland when trying to identify potential targets and with the Latics having strong links in both Central and South America that is another area of the world that players could arrive at the DW Stadium from but speaking to the Wigan Evening Post Martinez reveals that Eastern Europe could well be the next port of call.

Martinez says: 'We've got a good squad at Wigan with a lot of potential and they are still improving.

'You are always looking to strengthen and our search is a worldwide one.

'We are not just looking at the English market, because some players here can be a little bit overpriced.

'So I'm looking at Spain, Holland, Scotland, Portugal, Ukraine and South America as well.

'We have strong links there, as we have shown with the players we've bought.

'We are going to be linked with many players but any who come to Wigan will have to give the squad another dimension, and, crucially, help the players we already have"


Now the Latics have already had one unsuccessful signing from the Ukraine when Julius Aghahowa joined for £2.5 million from Shakhtar Donetsk and was about as useful as a hand-break on a glider and he proved to be Paul Jewells worst ever signing, surprisingly enough Aghahowa is back at Shakhtar and scoring goals, wonders never cease.

So with sights set east who could we be targeting as the next Aghahowa, whoops signing from the Ukraine. Shakhtar currently have SIX Brazilians (I love that word) playing for them including attacking midfield man Jádson who has 26 goals in 114 appearances for the club including a Champions League hat-trick against FC Basel.

Then there is Ukraine international defender Anatoliy Tymoshchuk who is currently plying his trade in Germany with Bayern Munich, now we have been linked with the 30 year old defender before and he almost signed for Paul Jewel back in 2006. Tymoshchuk is a footballing centre-half and would fit perfectly into Martinez` style of play. Maybe a bit expensive though, looks like we could have missed out on Anatoliy.

Whoever we are setting our sights on remains a mystery and although it is fun to speculate you can end up getting carried away, Andriy Shevchenko anyone, Martinez himself remains tight lipped and he concludes: 'Until something happens I'm not going to single out names because that would be unfair.'


Unfair maybe Bobby, but we love the gossip


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