Wigan Athletic retained list is out!

Leam Richardson has decided who he wants to stay for the rebuild at Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic have offered new deals to NINE of the heroes who helped to keep them in League One against all the odds.

Five of those players – Lee Evans, Owen Evans, Jamie Jones, Kyle Joseph and Chris Merrie – have been with the club for some time, with boss Leam Richardson hoping to retain as much continuity as possible.

And a further four of the reinforcements brought in to aid the survival bid – Tendayi Darikwa, Joe Dodoo, Will Keane and Viv Solomon-Otabor – have also done enough to warrant renewed terms.

It’s bad news for Zach Clough, Dan Gardner, Corey Whelan and Academy product Alex Perry, who will leave the club this summer at the end of their existing deals.

The situation remains unclear regarding the five loan players – George Johnston, Funso Ojo, Jamie Proctor, Curtis Tilt, Scott Wootton – who have all returned to their respective loan clubs.

Ojo (Aberdeen) and Tilt (Rotherham) remain under contract with their parent employers, but Johnston (Feyenoord), Proctor (Rotherham) and Wootton (Plymouth) are free agents from July 1 – and could remain on the radar.

Boss Richardson is hoping for swift decisions from those offered new terms, with only six players – Thelo Aasgaard, Callum Lang, Adam Long, Gavin Massey, Tom Pearce, Luke Robinson – currently on contract.

Massey’s contract was due to expire this summer, but an appearance-based clause for an extra 12 months has been triggered.

He remains the club’s longest serving senior player, having arrived in the summer of 2017 at the beginning of Paul Cook’s reign.

From the Under-23s, Scott Smith and Sam Tickle have been offered extended terms to their professional contracts, while MacKenzie O’Neill and Jack Sanders will leave the club at the end of their deals.

Under-18s players Baba Adeeko, James Carragher, Tom Costello, Kieran Lloyd, Harry McGee, Harry McHugh and Sean McGurk have all been offered their first professional contracts at the end of their scholarships.

Millen Brown, Zach Dobie, Jason Fulton and Marcus Snell will leave the club with their scholarships having expired.

The following U18 players will enter the second-year of their scholarships next season: Adam Brooks, Sam Campbell, Charlie Hughes, Arthur Lomax, Kian Monks, Owen Mooney, Dan Smith, Chris Sze, Tom Watson and Levi Welsh.

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