Wigan Athletic have announced that young defender Will McGuffie has left the club to join Northern Premier League side Stafford Rangers on loan. 

The deal will last until the end of November, and the Latics will be hoping that the youngster can develop from experiencing regular minutes in senior football in the near future.

McGuffie made his senior debut for Wigan back in 2017, when he featured in an EFL Cup game against Accrington Stanley.

But it's with Wigan's youth teams where the defender has caught the eye, with a number of impressive performances for the Under 18s team, where he played his part in the treble-winning season last term.

Paul Cook's first team have got off to a relatively slow start in this year's league campaign, with the Latics currently sat 18th in the Championship table.

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They'll be hoping to build on an impressive performance against Bristol City last weekend though when they host Swansea City in the early kick-off on Saturday.

McGuffie could be in line to make his debut for his new club this weekend, when they take on Bamber Bridge in a game between two sides that only have three wins between them this season.

The Verdict:

This is the best move for both parties involved.

It seems highly unlikely that McGuffie is going to be featuring for the Wigan first team on a consistent basis this season, so it's a smart move to send him out on loan for the next month.

McGuffie and the Latics will be hoping that he can come back a better player having experienced senior football, in what is his first loan spell in his career so far.