Wigan Athletic’s Jamie McGrath wanted by Hibernian and Aberdeen

Wigan Athletic may have been relegated to League One for the 2023-24 season and they will start the campaign on at least minus eight points, but the mood is still jubilant following their takeover this week.

Life was good under Bahraini owner Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi as the Latics won the League One title in 2022, but soon after that the issues regarding paying player and staff wages on time set in and everything soon went downhill.

Calls for Al-Jasmi and co to depart were finally answered a couple of weeks ago when the Bahrain businessman agreed to sell the club, and this week a deal was swiftly agreed and put through by the EFL for local billionaire businessman Mike Danson to take control.

Danson owns 25 per cent of Rugby League outfit Wigan Warriors and made his money in the world of data, and now that his takeover is complete, manager Shaun Maloney can push forward and start to reshape his squad.

One player that is likely not going to be a part of Maloney’s plans is Jamie McGrath, who has barely been seen at the club since his arrival in January 2022 from St. Mirren.

What is Jamie McGrath’s situation at Wigan Athletic?

The attacking midfielder was a deadline day signing in League One 18 months ago, penning a two-and-a-half year contract with that meaning he’s at the Latics until the summer of 2024.

He played just three times in the second half of 2021-22 for Wigan though and Leam Richardson then decided to loan McGrath out for the 2022-23 season to Dundee United of the Scottish Premiership – a league where he had previously showed his best form in.

McGrath was successful at the Tangerines in terms of his own game, scoring nine times in 37 outings but was ultimately part of a side that were relegated to the second tier of Scottish football.

Returning to Wigan following that loan stint, McGrath will likely see himself as surplus to requirements.

Hibernian and Aberdeen keen on Jamie McGrath

There is seemingly an avenue out of the DW Stadium however, as a couple of days ago The Herald claimed that Hibernian were interested in taking McGrath off Wigan’s hands.

That has been backed up by The Sun’s Alan Nixon, but he has also reported on Patreon that Hibs face competition for his services in the form of Aberdeen.

The Dons also have the 26-year-old on their radar and both them and Hibs want to sign McGrath for absolutely nothing this summer, even though he is under contract at Wigan for another year.

Wigan could be receptive to a deal on a free transfer though to get seven-cap Ireland international McGrath off the wage bill as he is seemingly not fancied at the club, with the need as well to cut costs following their relegation to League One.