Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook is a contender to take over from Sean Dyche at Premier League side Burnley in the summer if he ends his seven-year spell at Turf Moor, according to the Daily Star.

Cook has managed to galvanise his players to go on a fine run of form in the Championship since the turn of they year, which had seen them pull clear of relegation trouble and looking on course for a comfortable mid table finish. However, the Latics now face the prospect of relegation having entered into administration.

That could mean that Wigan will be deducted 12 points at the end of the season, which would make it very unlikely for them to survive in the Championship – and that could see Cook potentially come onto the radar of clubs in both the English second tier and the Premier League.

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Burnley are thought to be one club who could see Cook as a potential option in the summer, with current boss Dyche publicly expressing his discontent with club’s hierarchy over player contracts and potential budget for the next transfer window – and that has created suggestions he could leave at the end of the campaign.

The verdict

This would be another real blow for Wigan were they to lose Cook, who has managed to inspire an excellent upturn in performances during the second half of the season to seemingly get the Latics heading in the right direction ahead of next term.

However, now it seems that Wigan could go down and that would leave Cook probably wanting to pursue another challenge. It does remain to be seen whether he would be able to replace Dyche though who has himself worked miracles on a tight budget at Turf Moor for seven-years.

Cook though enjoyed a largely successful spell with the Clarets in his playing career, and he has shown he can work on a budget with the Latics, so this could certainly be a situation to keep an eye on as the season draws to a close.