Tuesday, April 20, 2010
EXCLUSIVE: Wigan Athletic Chairman Dave Whelan Admits Stars Hugo Rodallega & Charles N'Zogbia Could Join Arsenal Or Liverpool
Posted by izzreen at 6:25 PM
Both Rodallega and N’Zogbia have been linked with moves to bigger clubs at the end of this season, and Whelan insists that Wigan’s policy has always been to help players further their careers.
“Wigan is a small club, we accept that,” he told Goal.com UK, “We have to look around and buy players and coach them, and I always tell my players that if a big club comes calling, I will never stand in their way.
“If you look now, we have a lad at Manchester United [Antonio Valencia] and a lad at Tottenham Hotspur [Wilson Palacios], and they are doing fantastically well.
"I think this current team has two or three players – Hugo Rodallega and Charles N’Zogbia for example – who can go on to play for top, top clubs. And I would never stand in the way of those players should that opportunity arise.”
Arsenal have been linked with a £20 million double-swoop for the pair, whilst Liverpool are rumoured to be preparing a summer move for Rodallega in a bid to boost their striking options, and Whelan believes Wigan’s reputation as a solid breeding ground for such players attracts big clubs to the DW Stadium.
“Wigan has earned, correctly, a reputation for being a good club to come to,” he said, “Players know that if they come to Wigan they will be in the first team, they will get good coaching, and they will get a chance to move on to a big, big club if they are good enough.”
Palac-Act | Spurs' Palacios made his name at Wigan
“We are continuing to scout across the globe, but especially in South and Central America,” he revealed, “We have two or three excellent scouts in that region, and they are continuing to turn up players for us.
"We have had great success in that area of course, and we have a couple of other players on the horizon in that region. They will be playing in the World Cup, and we will be looking at them before, during and after that.”
Of more pressing importance to Wigan, of course, is retaining their Premier League status. Sunday’s epic victory over Arsenal looks set to preserve their place amongst English football’s elite, leaving them seven points clear of the relegation zone with three games to play, and Whelan says he expects manager Roberto Martinez to improve next season, having spent this campaign adjusting to the demands of top-flight management.
“We have had some great wins, played some super football, but we have had some really poor days,” he said.
“Our manager Roberto Martinez has come from the Championship, and he has taken a while to settle into the demands and the pace of the Premier League. It is a huge learning curve and he has to learn fast, which he is doing. It is a massive step up both for players and management.”
“I think we will stay in the Premier League, and I truly hope we do because I think next season Roberto will be fully acclimatised to the demands of the league, and I think we will be a lot stronger.”
At the other end of the table, the title race looks set to go to the wire, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all competing, but Whelan is in no doubt as to the destination of the Premier League trophy.
“I think Chelsea have already won the league,” he said, “I am sorry for Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool, because I always want Lancashire clubs to win everything, but I think Chelsea will be champions, they are a good team. We play Chelsea on the last day of the season, and I think they will be lifting the trophy when they play against us.”
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