Everton have agreed to allow left-back Antonee Robinson to return to Championship side Wigan Athletic on a permanent basis, The Liverpool Echo have reported.

Robinson spent last season on loan at The DW Stadium, making 26 appearances for the Latics, helping Paul Cook's side to an 18th place finish in their first season back in the Championship following their League One title win the year before.

The 21-year-old has two years remaining on his contract at Goodison Park, but it looks as though he will struggle for first-team opportunities behind Lucas Digne and Leighton Baines, with Robinson not part of the group that travelled to Switzerland as part of the clubs pre-tour on Thursday.

Having graduated through Everton's youth system, Robinson has yet to make a single senior appearance for the Merseyside club, and it now looks unlikely that that will happen at all as the defender closes in on a return to the DW Stadium.

It is thought that Robinson is likely to cost Wigan somewhere in the region of £2million, with the American set to become the Latics' third summer signing, following the arrivals of David Marshall and Lewis Macleod on free transfers from Hull and Brentford respectively.

The Verdict

This is a promising piece of news for Wigan.

Left-back has been something of a problematic area for Paul Cook's side in recent years, so securing the services of Robinson on a longer-term basis could go some way towards addressing that issue.

Robinson has proven himself to be a reliable option in that area for Wigan last season, and the fact that he already knows the club will means he should be able to bed back into things at The DW Stadium pretty quickly upon his return.

That Wigan are spending money to get this transfer done should also be an encouraging sign for their fans, as they look to build a side capable of pushing them on from their at-times nervy return to the Championship last season.