It has been a remarkable start to the season for Wigan Athletic's breakthrough star Joe Gelhardt, who introduced himself in fine fashion to Wigan supporters with a moment of individual brilliance, scoring a vital equaliser for the Latics in a 2-2 draw with Hull City a few weeks ago.

That goal demonstrated for all to see the vast potential that the 17-year-old possess and the forward could well be an influential figure in Wigan's hopes of securing another season of Championship football this term, with Paul Cook so far keen to heap praise on not just his quality but his attitude and desire to make a name for himself.

Given Gelhardt's performance in his brief spell in the Wigan first team so far it is perhaps not surprising to see him being linked with some of England's biggest clubs playing in the Premier League, and one such team thought to be interested in the forward are Frank Lampard's Chelsea, who are expressing interest in him, according to the Express.

Wigan supporters will be hoping that the club can keep hold of one of the most promising players that has come through their youth set up in years, but were the Latics to cash in on Gelhardt it might not necessarily be a bad thing for both parties in the long run.

Here, we take a look at three reasons why Chelsea's potential interest is worth considering for Wigan...

Potential to receive hefty transfer fee

The most obvious benefit for Wigan were they to elect to sell Gelhardt to Chelsea, should the Blues come in with an offer, would be that they are likely to receive a hefty fee for the 17-year-old given the current state of the transfer market and the forward's vast potential to develop into an excellent Premier League player.

Such a transfer fee could then be used to strengthen Cook's squad in areas where they are perhaps lacking in depth, which could potentially turn out to be a very wise thing to do if the Latics can reinvest the money on the right players in the transfer window.

Selling Gelhardt would also see Wigan produce a very healthy profit on a player they have developed through their academy, which is vital for a club like the Latics if they are going to be able to financially compete against teams with much bigger resources than them in the Championship.

Sending the right message to other academy prospects

Were Wigan to allow Gelhardt to leave the DW Stadium it would send an encouraging message to the club's other academy prospects, who will have seen the 17-year-old through both his quality and desire manage to make an impression in Cook's first team squad and then earn himself a move to a higher level.

That should be enough to provide a great deal of motivation to the Latics' other youth team prospects, who would subsequently feel the same ambition to replicate Gelhardt and stamp their authority on the first team at the DW Stadium in the coming months and years.

However, were Wigan to deny Gelhardt the opportunity to move on to the Premier League it would send the message to other players, and potentially de-motivated the 17-year-old to carry on producing his best performances if he is not going to be rewarded for it.

Maintaining strong relationship with Chelsea

Wigan were grateful for their strong relationship with Chelsea last season when the Blues allowed Cook's side to bring in Reece James on loan, and the defender was a vital part of the Latics side as they managed to secure Championship survival, putting in some excellent Man of the Match displays in crucial games.

Were the Latics to allow Chelsea to sign Gelhardt they could potentially do so with an agreement to take him on loan for a spell, which would enable them to still get the quality of the 17-year-old on the pitch for them and also enable Cook to further develop the forward.

Wigan could also benefit from further strengthening their relationship with Chelsea by being allowed to take some of the Blues' other promising young players on loan in the following transfer windows, which would only enhance the quality in Cook's squad.