Wigan Athletic chief executive Mal Brannigan has played down the chances of the Latics making a move to re-sign forward Will Grigg from Sunderland this summer.

Grigg managed to get his career back on track with a promising loan spell at MK Dons in League One in the second half of last season.

That saw him manage to fire in eight goals and provide three assists in 20 appearances to remind everyone of his quality, after he had failed to find the net in nine league games with Sunderland in the first half of the season.

As a result of his form for MK Dons there have been reports that the League One club are wanting to try and arrange a permanent move for the 29-year-old during the summer transfer window.

However, Wigan have also been credited with an interest in potentially re-signing the forward with them keen to bolster their attacking options ahead of next season. I

It is believed that Sunderland are set to make him available for a permanent transfer during the window as they aim to recoup some of the sizeable fee they paid for him.

Speaking to Wigan Today though, Brannigan suggested that there will always be a connection back to the Latics for the forward after his achievements in his first spell with the club, but also insisted links to him this summer are just speculation.

He said: “There will always be speculation about Will Grigg.

“And as long as he’s putting on his boots, he’ll always be associated with this football club – for what he did on and off the pitch.

“Again, though, the stories that are out there are speculative, and we must prefer to talk about deals we have already done.”

The Verdict

This suggests that Wigan might not be making a move to rival MK dons in the race for Grigg this summer, although it is always the case that key club figures do not like to openly discuss potential transfer targets in the public domain. It could be a potential blow for Sunderland because they could ideally do with finding the 29-year-old a new home really this window.

A move back to Wigan would make a lot of sense for the forward and having got his form back on track with MK Dons last term you could see him potentially having another major impact for the Latics. However, there is always that feeling of maybe you should not go back to the place where you have previously enjoyed a lot of success.

It will be interesting to see whether Wigan do come in for Grigg at all this summer, but these comments suggest that is perhaps unlikely at this stage. The forward is likely going to be available throughout the window for someone to get so the Latics could amend their stance later down the line.